I love the way Mark 8, the Feeding of the 4,000, starts:

I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. (Mark 8.2, ESV)

How much compassion do I have on the crowd? I thought about it Saturday a week ago when I was at a sports bar in Denver watching the Clemson game while June was at a music teachers’ conference. Crowded. Noisy. The people had plenty of physical food, but what about their spiritual lives?

The story goes on after Jesus observed that he couldn’t send them away hungry:

And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. (Mark 8.4 – 7, ESV)

What it takes to feed the people is all that we have. “He took the seven loaves…”