There are two stories in John 6:1-21 -- the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water during a storm on the Sea of Galilee. These two stories answer two important questions.

First, when does 5 + 2 x 1 = 12? Mathematically, never. But in the story of the feeding of the 5,000, the multiplication formula works just like that: five loaves of barley bread, plus two small fish, times Jesus, the one man who is in control, equals twelve baskets of leftover bread. The key ingredient in that multiplication formula is Jesus, who when we give up control to him, works multiplications, wonders, and even miracles. Give Jesus what you have and he can miraculously make much more than you can imagine out of it. How does this miracle of multiplication happen? It can happen if and when we remember Jesu…