“And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.’”
John 6:12
John 6 records the story of the feeding of the 5,000. So many people were fed with only five barely loaves and two small fish. But there is more.
When everyone was done eating, Jesus told his disciples to gather the scraps that remained. They did so and filled twelve baskets. Those leftover pieces of fish and bread were also part of the miracle.
Jesus made his request so that “nothing may be lost” (John 6:12). Jesus would not have waste on that day—even of a piece of bread that no one had wanted.
Those scraps can represent us. We too are a product of Jesus’s ministry. But how do we feel about ourselves? At times, do we think of ourselves as unnecessary, unimportant, or cast aside? Could we see a leftover crust of bread and feel it is like us?
If so, we can be comforted by the words of Jesus. Like those scraps in John 6, Jesus wants us to be picked up. He wants us gathered together. He has a future plan for us. He is determined that nothing will be lost.
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