The very familiar story Matthew tells in chapter 14 verses 22-33 is literally packed with straightforward and practical lessons. And if you read it, even casually, you can likely pick out most of them.

But it’s also rich with deep and weighty theological and Christological significance. But in order to see these you have to read just a little deeper.

There's just one of Jesus' miracles recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One. There was something about it that all four Evangelists - initially writing to very different audiences - were compelled to tell.

It involves feeding a crowd.

And the recipe, while generally familiar, has an ingredient or two that just might inspire you.

Matthew 14:13–21

Romans 8:26-39

WYSIWYG is an acronym for the aphorism, “what you see is what you get.” It’s often uttered as a vaccine against disappointment, ensuring that viral expectations and foolish fantasies are kept in check. Often, you hear it expressed another way as, “it is what it is.”

But isn’t that just really the prescription for malaise and hopelessness? “Get used to it, folks, it doesn’t get any better. What you see is what you get.”

But what if that’s exactly wrong? What if what we see isn’t at all what we get?

The Apostle Paul takes up the answer to that question in the middle third of Romans, 8. He insists that the redeemed children of God are heirs to a future beyond our sight. What we will get is not what we now see.

It’s not WYSIWYG.

         Romans 8:18-27