Reason #759
We went to the annual Lubbock Lion's Club Pancake festival this morning, which was obviously the event of the year. I had absolutely no idea all you can eat pancakes would draw such a crowd. Seriously, there were, I don't know, 20,000 people there. We waited in line for almost an hour, sat down and ate our food in just a few minutes, and left as soon as we were done. The moment I walked outside, it was like I could finally breathe again.
I can't handle large crowds. Well, I should say I can't handle waiting in antsy lines with thousands of people. It gives me way too much anxiety to have people a few inches in front of me and a few inches behind me for almost an hour. This is why I hardly go to Wal-Mart anymore. I discovered that every time I left the store, I was angry. I'm not patient, as I've admitted many, many times, and I'm very structured and logical, so the chaos that comes with large groups of slow moving people who have no exact idea of where they are going really pushes my buttons. I'm not cut out for aimless, leisurely walking. I know it sounds silly and like I just need to relax, but that would be like telling a claustrophobic to crawl inside a clothes hamper and not let it get to them.
In Matthew 14, Jesus shows up to a crowd. The thing is, He can't get away from these people. They are following Him around. And, I highly doubt it's in "follow the leader" fashion. I am sure these people were all over him. Touching Him, breathing on Him, standing uncomfortably too close to Him, and invading His personal space. And so He needed a little moment by Himself. He gets on a boat to sail away, and He shows up to find that the crowd was still there waiting for Him. Matthew 14:14 says, "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them..." Compassion is the last thing I have when I see a large crowd. My first thought is, "Let's leave!" I can imagine that Jesus was on that boat enjoying a little alone time, and the fact that the first thought He had when He saw those few thousand people was compassion is remarkable to me. There was no thought like, "Are you kidding me? Give me a break people! I just need some space. You are crowding me (no pun intended), and it's stressing me out." No, Jesus looked at those people and He had compassion on them. They didn't overwhelm Him. He didn't want to turn around and run from them. Jesus got out of that boat, joined the multitudes, and then even went so far as to feed them dinner for showing up.
I am thankful that Jesus isn't afraid of the masses because I'm one of them. I am one of those pushy people who is always coming to Him asking questions. I'm the one who is taking up space, crowing Him, following Him with intrigue, and hoping to get close to Him like the rest of His children are. There's a bunch of us, you know. A whole, whole lot of us who need Jesus. A whole, whole lot of us who want Jesus. And there are a whole, whole lot of people who are joining the crowd to make sure they don't miss out on what's going on. And so I am thankful that Jesus looks at us with compassion. I am thankful that He doesn't look at us and think, "Oh my gosh, could they just leave me alone for a bit? I am tired of dealing with so many people." I am thankful that when He sees us, He doesn't turn and leave, instead, He walks among us, feeding us, healing us, and fellowshipping with us. Rather it's in the masses, or just one on one, and I am thankful that Jesus is always among us.
#759 - Because we can find Him in the crowd.
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people." - John 14:14-19
I can't handle large crowds. Well, I should say I can't handle waiting in antsy lines with thousands of people. It gives me way too much anxiety to have people a few inches in front of me and a few inches behind me for almost an hour. This is why I hardly go to Wal-Mart anymore. I discovered that every time I left the store, I was angry. I'm not patient, as I've admitted many, many times, and I'm very structured and logical, so the chaos that comes with large groups of slow moving people who have no exact idea of where they are going really pushes my buttons. I'm not cut out for aimless, leisurely walking. I know it sounds silly and like I just need to relax, but that would be like telling a claustrophobic to crawl inside a clothes hamper and not let it get to them.
In Matthew 14, Jesus shows up to a crowd. The thing is, He can't get away from these people. They are following Him around. And, I highly doubt it's in "follow the leader" fashion. I am sure these people were all over him. Touching Him, breathing on Him, standing uncomfortably too close to Him, and invading His personal space. And so He needed a little moment by Himself. He gets on a boat to sail away, and He shows up to find that the crowd was still there waiting for Him. Matthew 14:14 says, "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them..." Compassion is the last thing I have when I see a large crowd. My first thought is, "Let's leave!" I can imagine that Jesus was on that boat enjoying a little alone time, and the fact that the first thought He had when He saw those few thousand people was compassion is remarkable to me. There was no thought like, "Are you kidding me? Give me a break people! I just need some space. You are crowding me (no pun intended), and it's stressing me out." No, Jesus looked at those people and He had compassion on them. They didn't overwhelm Him. He didn't want to turn around and run from them. Jesus got out of that boat, joined the multitudes, and then even went so far as to feed them dinner for showing up.
I am thankful that Jesus isn't afraid of the masses because I'm one of them. I am one of those pushy people who is always coming to Him asking questions. I'm the one who is taking up space, crowing Him, following Him with intrigue, and hoping to get close to Him like the rest of His children are. There's a bunch of us, you know. A whole, whole lot of us who need Jesus. A whole, whole lot of us who want Jesus. And there are a whole, whole lot of people who are joining the crowd to make sure they don't miss out on what's going on. And so I am thankful that Jesus looks at us with compassion. I am thankful that He doesn't look at us and think, "Oh my gosh, could they just leave me alone for a bit? I am tired of dealing with so many people." I am thankful that when He sees us, He doesn't turn and leave, instead, He walks among us, feeding us, healing us, and fellowshipping with us. Rather it's in the masses, or just one on one, and I am thankful that Jesus is always among us.
#759 - Because we can find Him in the crowd.
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people." - John 14:14-19