And when they had all had enough to eat, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces of bread and fish that are leftover, that nothing be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled 12 baskets with broken pieces.  John 6:12

Until yesterday, I had never noticed that in this often-told story of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, after everyone had eaten Jesus instructed his disciples to pick up the broken pieces.  

Such an odd detail. How could I have missed that before? Why did Jesus ask them to tidy up the hillside? Was Jesus just adhering to the “Leave No Trace and Zero Waste” campground code? Perhaps he was providing his disciples with supersized doggy bags for their dinner? We know that every word in scripture is there for a reason, so why was the phrase “picking up the pieces” included? 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

In this multiplication miracle (found in all four Gospels), the disciples collected twelve baskets of “pieces.” Some commentaries suggest that the twelve baskets full of leftover pieces symbolizes abundance—one full basket for each of the disciples, or one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. In other words, enough for everyone. Jesus will always provide enough of whatever it is you need and for everyone who needs it; a rebuttal to the gospel of scarcity—instead, a symbol of God’s extravagant and generous and lavish love.  

Jesus Knows

Have you ever hit that place when your life as you know it has been shattered? You watch your life implode into a shower of broken pieces swirling around you. 

Jesus knew what that felt like. The day before this loaves and fishes miracle, Jesus heard his beloved cousin, John the Baptizer, had been murdered. Jesus’ world had fallen to pieces.

In this object lesson, I feel like Jesus is telling us to collect those broken pieces of our lives into a basket when our world fractures. He told the disciples to pick up the pieces so “that nothing may be lost,” or as another translation says “that nothing may be wasted.” How often do we feel as though nothing good could possibly come out of our crisis/crossroads/emergency?

In ancient Rome and Greece, mourners collected their tears in a tear bottle (called a lachrymatory). They then buried it with their loved ones to express honor and devotion. This was also a Jewish tradition predating the Roman’s, and commentators feel that David refers to this practice in Psalm 56 when he says to God, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” I love the image of God collecting our tears, grieving with us, letting us know that each sorrow we have experienced, every tear we have shed is not wasted. 

Nothing Wasted

Our tears, our broken pieces are not for naught. Instead, each one of those broken pieces is there for a reason. How often when we’ve been shattered does Jesus help us pick up the pieces? Each broken piece of our lives, each crooked path we meander down, each illness is a piece of our story. With His own hands he picks up every piece and lovingly honors it. 

What do most people do with broken pieces? They throw them away, discard them. But Jesus asked the disciples to pick up the pieces so that nothing be wasted, just as the pieces of our brokenness are not parts of our life that are wasted. No experience is a waste. God has a purpose for each mistake, each misstep, each broken part of our lives. And like a mosaic, sometimes the individual broken pieces don’t seem to make sense, but can only be comprehended when seen in their final completed form.

God can restore what is broken and change it into something glorious that completes us.  
God not only restores those broken pieces, he turns them into masterpieces. 

We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.  Romans 8:28 The Voice