Free Lunch?

Last week, I cooked dinner for a grand total of 13 persons, not counting 4 who were not able to make it. Quite an achievement for me considering I started learning to cook only since Aug last year and also have not cooked a full meal for such a large group before. Dinner was yam rice which was well-received by my cell group members. Their comment that my yam rice was "very fragant" was an encouragement after the earlier failure of my orkuih (wu tao ko or yam rice cake) which my sis said was "not fragant".

Preparing dinner for the large group took me a whole day, with a lot of cutting and dicing - pork belly, yam, dried mushrooms and shallots. I was blessed with the help of my sis who came back earlier in the late afternoon. My sis was so unused to dicing that her arms ached the next day! 1.5 kg of yam was a lot to dice.

In Jesus' time, dinner was "five loaves of bread and two fish" for a total of about 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Simple fare indeed, but what a multitude that Jesus fed miraculously! The abundance of Jesus' blessing was so great that the people had 12 basketfuls left over!

"17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18 "Bring them here to me," he said.
19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children."
(Matthew 14 : 17 - 21)

On another occasion, Jesus feb 4,000 persons, not counting women and children, with 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish; and 7 basketfuls were left over (Matthew 15 : 32 - 38).

Jesus provides more than bread and fish for sustenance of our physical bodies. He is the "true bread from heaven" (John 6: 32- 33) whom God the Father gives to all whose souls hunger for "food that endures to eternal life" (John 6 :27).

How much do we have to pay to receive this true bread? Nothing, because Jesus has paid it all at the cross and He gives freely to all who would seek and find Him. So, it is not true that there is "no such thing as free lunch". There is only free will, to receive what Jesus offers. This offer is unlimited, available 24/7 - at all times.

"35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.....
40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.""
(John 6 : 35 & 40)