Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.

Devotion based on Mark 6:39-41

I grew up with a family of five boys and no girls. Yes, I can hear you now: “Your poor mother!” Trust me, she’ll tell you every chance she gets how thankful she is for her five sons. As you can imagine, with five growing boys in the house, food was constantly consumed. After a long day of school, combined with a grueling football practice, we were ready to chow down. However, before a single dish was passed, before one morsel of food from the fork went into our mouths, first things first: we gave thanks to God!

There were more than a few people in the crowd that day who had bellies aching for food. It was just about dinner time, and some hadn’t eaten in hours. And with that hunger, it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine some cranky, ornery attitudes.

But look at how the scene is described—a beautiful and pleasant picnic. The people aren’t shoving or shoveling food in their mouths. There’s no fighting or complaining. Instead, they politely take their places for this feast Jesus has prepared. They patiently wait for food to come. However, before any of the bread or fish are distributed, Jesus does something awesome. He looks up to the heavens and gives thanks to his Father in heaven for this gift of a meal.

It is good for us to give thanks to God for all of the blessings he provides. When we do that, we remember that it is God who blesses us with everything we have and focus on him rather than those gifts.

God has blessed us with so much—food, clothing, homes, friends! But the greatest gift of all is sending us a Savior from our sin, a Savior who has won us a seat in the banquet hall of heaven.

Prayer: