John 6:9

“Look, Jesus!” Andrew injects, “Here’s a young lad with five smallish loaves of barley bread and two equally small fish.  I don’t suppose these will go very far with so many people to feed.”  John 6:9 EFP

Well, there it is!  Andrew being Andrew.  But there is also more to this text than meets the eye at first glance.  Yes, this is Andrew doing what he does best; he finds someone and brings him to Jesus.  Just like when he went and found his brother.

But there is a somewhat self-deprecating side to Andrew as well.  Perhaps it is the fact that he lives in the shadow of his bigger-than-life brother.  Maybe life taught him that being quiet and yielding is better that being loud and headstrong (aka Peter).  But note how he make his “pitch.”  He brings not just a lad—he qualifies it by adding “young.”  The five barley loves are “small”—and only five.  To boot he mentions two fish that are—you guessed it…small.  And to add the obvious to the meager supplies he adds, “I don’t think this is going to do!”  I picture Eeyore, the A. A. Milne character from the Winnie the Pooh series of books.

But in spite of his limitations; in spite of his hesitancy; in spite of his thinly-veiled negativism, Andrew does the one thing the other disciples, including Phillip, do not do.  He brings his meager effort to Jesus.  He carries his doubts to Jesus.  He discloses his lack of resources to Jesus.  He exposes his lack of faith to Jesus. There is lesson I am trying to learn. I gain nothing from bringing a gussied up version of myself to God. I need to come just as I am. But I must also remember, Jesus already knows what he is going to do! He’s just waiting for me to come to him in a spirit of honesty. Teach me, Lord!