Reaching Out
Baskets of Fragments
April 2, 2005

“So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.’” John 6:12

This verse has really gripped my attention and I believe may have applicability for the church today. Most churches, denominations were started with some type of move of God. An awakening of some sort, or at least a God-given desire within some to promote or highlight certain possibly neglected truths.

What I am getting from this verse today is a sense that many churches were started with the passing out of a “whole.” Whole loaves and fishes (each representing a particular God-revealed truth) were passed out. People ate and were filled. Now, after a season of feasting on these truths, many are full and fragments lie on the ground. Fragments of former moves of God, past priorities and emphases. I’m also seeing that the fragments could represent people who have given themselves whole-heartedly to God, and now lie as fragments, perhaps burned-out or just weary, waiting to be picked up and used again.

So now we have these fragments (whether they be past movements, passions, priorities, or people) and I believe God is calling His disciples to stoop down and pick them up. To make sure that none are lost. Jesus is very clear about His mission of losing none. (Jn 17:12, 18:9)

I think the act of stooping down is important here. This is a season in which God is emphasizing humility. Who will stoop down? For those willing to do so, the reward will be great.

Next, these fragments are to be picked up and placed in baskets. Perhaps this will be a planned reorganization, or just a natural realignment that occurs over a period of time. I keep seeing the inside of baskets filled with fragments lying next to fragments that they have never been near, much less touched, before. Fragments from this whole or that whole are all in the same basket together. Again, this could be people or churches aligning themselves together who have never worked together before or truths from various moves of God/streams within the body of Christ coming together in combinations not seen or rarely seen before.

Why “fragments”? I believe God is calling us to recognize that we are all fragments (parts), not wholes, that we need each other’s gifts and that none of us has a corner on the truth. As I heard Rodney Kingstone, one of my pastors, say recently, the “you” in “you have the mind of Christ” is plural. (I Cor 2:16)

The food (the “miracle”) that God’s disciples are going to be distributing to the masses in this day is “fragments” picked up from the ground. What are these fragments? Two things come to mind.
• The fragments are truth offered in humility with the understanding that no one group or person has the complete mind of God. This is not to say that there should be a tolerance of casual use of the Scripture. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God. Even in this passage we are considering, we see that bread (often a symbol of the Word of God) is considered so precious than none should be lost. Also, fragments may symbolize the amount of truth people can take in. When, in the first distribution, they were given the “whole,” part fell to the ground. Perhaps the body of Christ will have greater wisdom in these days in regard to the offering of truth. We will offer the truth so that it can be taken in, with none discarded. You can’t hit someone over the head with a fragment or become overly full and people fed fragments aren’t likely to get overly full (puffed up, lethargic).
• The fragments are people who have spent time on the ground, unused. They are believers who know they are “fragments” (“He must increase, but I must decrease.” Jn 3:30), who have learned dependency on Jesus and that they need others. They are believers who have gained new perspective by being temporarily cast aside (who have had to work through feeling undesirable, forgotten, being seen as inconsequential). They are believers who have hopefully gained humility and perhaps, by spending time on the ground, a new understanding of the world to which they will be sent.

To the churches that have been around for years and have experienced amazing moves of God, I sense the Lord saying, “What have I done in your place in the past? How have you seen Me move? Gather up the fragments so that none is lost. Present them with deeper humility and along with other facets of truth.”

To those who have lain on the ground, unused, seemingly forgotten, “Today is your day. Receive the hands reaching out to you. Many in the church are like those laying beside the pool of Bethesda. They are “paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.” Jesus is coming along today and saying, “ Do you want to be made well? Rise up, take your bed and walk.” (Jn 5:3-8)”

To church leaders, “See the “fragments” around you in a new way. People have changed as they have lain on the ground. Truths you thought were outdated are still of value. Much that was initially seen as attractive has been long eaten but, like the peel on the apple that is often discarded, rich nutrients for the body of Christ are in what was thrown down.”

To God’s people, “Bend down. Scoop up fragments and enjoy the variety I am giving you. Risk picking up others’ “left-overs” and “cast-offs.” You will be amazed at the bounty I give you to distribute if you do. This is the food of the present day. This is the food for the church to both enjoy and offer in this hour. Baskets of fragments that are precious to Me. Take care that nothing is lost in this day.”