Ga Leor and Galore

A few weeks ago the girls and I spent a few days in Indiana with my parents.

We like to call that Camp Indiana.

Monte deemed it that when we were first married.

He loves visiting Camp Indiana where sandwiches and milk shakes

 just appear without ordering them and time seems to somehow slow down.

I’ll get into more of that later.

We were able to attend church with my parents.

They have a new minister. 

He has an Irish heritage and explained that the word galore is actually from the Irish word ga leor or ga’lore which means plenty or enough. It’s used as the response to “How are you?” 

 “Ga leor” meaning, I have plenty. It's enough. 

It was cool the way he said it with the Irish accent.

That’s a bit different than we typically use the word today.

 The dictionary defines the word as “in abundance”. 

If you hear of a sale with “shoes galore” you don’t think of just enough.

You think MORE than enough--shoes piled up in every size and color and style. 

The pastor went on to compare Jesus feeding the five thousand to Moses. I’d never paralleled the act to God providing manna to the Jews wandering in the desert.

In that case, God only provided what could be used that day, nothing leftover. 

Ga leor. Enough.

But in the case of Jesus feeding the five thousand, he multiplied the 5 small loaves and 2 small fish so much that 12 baskets were filled with leftovers.

Galore! Abundance.

As it usually works with me, our youth pastor, Dave,  preached on this very same subject this Sunday.

Did you know that this particular miracle is the ONLY one listed in all four gospels? Other than the crucifixion, it’s the only story repeated by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I think God was trying to get His point across.

Dave explained it in terms of missions. And we have ALL been called to be missionaries. He had three points from John 6: 1-13:

1. God will test your faith by pushing you 

outside of your comfort zone. 

The disciples were freaking out about feeding all those people. They thought they’d have to pay for it, knowing they wouldn’t have enough money. They didn’t even ask Jesus to help. 

They just explained how impossible the situation was.

(As a party planner, I can relate to the disciples’ panic just a wee bit!)

2. God calls the church to embody the 

practical compassion of Jesus. 

When Jesus looked at that tired, hungry crowd of 5,000 people, he felt love and compassion towards them. He WANTED to take care of them. We need to pray for God’s eyes for His people in need.

3. God can use what little you have to accomplish 

more than you could ever imagine.

God can make ga leor galore. He lavishes us with his abundant love yet He is always enough.

Smack dab in between these two sermons, I had coffee with a girlfriend I haven’t seen all summer. She talked about a scripture that was on her heart and she wasn’t sure what to make of it:

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”

Matthew 9:37

There was that word plenty again.

I shared the ga leor vs. galore sermon. 

God’s word is so good to bless others even through someone 

who couldn’t remember everything about the galore sermon.

In fact, when a very shocking, morally corrupt situation cropped up later in the week, it was that very friend that shared that sermon right back to me.

God is our “just enough” and our “lavish abundance”.

His grace is sufficient yet He also lavishes it on us richly with all wisdom and understanding.

He is our Shepherd yet he lovingly calls us His children.

I can just picture that scene of 5,000 (not counting women and children, which would have put it at over 10,000 people) sitting on the green hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee, all being fed “more than enough”. Like sheep grazing on a hillside with the loving Shepherd watching over them.