By Captain Rock –

At a church lunch, Phil Beal, who knew I was a sailor, asked me how much I thought a Sunfish sailboat might be worth.  When I told him, he said,  “Sold!” Suddenly, I had bought myself a great boat for our grandchildren to use on our small lake.

Tippy the Sailboat, 2006

The boat had belonged to Phil’s nephew, who was a faithful member of his church for many years.  He served his community and congregation by working as a custodian at Holland Hospital and as an usher at the church. One of his pleasures was sailing Tippy, his Sailfish.  Unknown to me, Phil gave the money from the sale of the boat to the church, in his nephew’s name.

This year I decided to sell the boat and give the proceeds to the church for a special project.  When I checked with the Beal family to see whether any one of them wanted it, they told me that they, too, had given the money to the church.  Up to that moment, I had no idea that had happened.  I was very pleased that I could do a similar thing for the church.  I discovered that my gift was part of the multiplication of the “loaves and the fishes.”

Christ multiplies our gifts in ways we cannot imagine.  The “loaves and fishes” we supply, He turns into nourishment for us all.