Love Multiplies

Focus Statement

Love multiplies when we stop holding back

and start offering what we have.

Point of Relation

When Bob Dylan released “The Times They Are A-Changin’,”

he wasn’t just writing protest music—

he was naming a spiritual truth.

The world was shifting.

Systems were cracking.

People were waking up.

And in the middle of all that unrest,

Dylan called for transformation. Not just political. Personal.

Dylan had been deeply influenced by Woody Guthrie—

a folk singer who believed music should speak for the poor,

the working class, the ones the world overlooks.

Dylan didn’t start as a rock star or a rebel.

He started as a truth-teller,

shaped by voices that believed songs could heal and provoke.

That’s the same invitation Jesus gives.

When the disciples wanted to send the crowd away—

when they looked at what they had and said, “It’s not enough”—

Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.”

He wasn’t asking for a miracle. He was asking for trust.

Because love doesn’t run on scarcity. It multiplies.

Things to Consider

Scarcity is loud.

It tells us there’s not enough—

of time, of money, of energy, of grace.

And it convinces us to hold back,

to pull inward,

to protect what little we have.

But that’s not how Jesus operates.

He sees what we’ve got—however small—and says,

“That’ll do.”

He blesses it, breaks it, and makes it more.

What Scripture Says

The crowd was massive.

Thousands of people, tired, hungry, and far from town.

The disciples saw the problem and wanted to send them away.

But Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.”

It was a shift—

a disruption of how things had always been done.

Like Dylan’s song, it was a call to stop waiting for someone else to act.

The times were changing,

and Jesus was asking them to be part of that change.

They looked at what they had—

five loaves, two fish—

and it didn’t feel like enough.

LET’s BE HONEST…by our standards, it was not enough!

But Jesus didn’t ask if it was enough.

He asked if they’d trust him with it.

He took what they had, gave thanks, and began to break it.

And somehow, it kept going. Somehow, everyone ate. Somehow, there were leftovers.

Jesus didn’t snap his fingers and drop food from the sky.

He used what was already in their hands.

He blessed what they were willing to offer.

That’s the miracle.

What This Means for You

Maybe you’ve looked at what you have—

your energy, your faith, your resources—

and thought, “It’s not enough.”

But Jesus never asked for perfection.

He asked for participation.

If you’re willing to offer what you have,

no matter how small,

he can do more with it than you imagine.

You don’t have to fix everything.

You just have to show up.

What This Means for Us

As a church, we are not called to measure what we lack—

we’re called to offer what we have.

When we stop waiting for someone else to do it,

and start sharing what's in our hands, love multiplies.

Grace multiplies.

The world begins to change—

not by force, but by generosity. Amen? Amen.

Written by Rev. Todd R. Lattig with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI).