A Sea of Humanity

I am not much for crowds. I hate the pushing and shoving and the waiting in lines. But once in awhile I have to just deal with it if I want to attend some of my favorite events. For example, I love baseball. So I survive the jostling in order to watch 9 men with a stick and a ball sweat out in the summer sun. I love concerts where my favorite musicians and singers share their talents with the masses. And I enjoy events such as Women of Faith. Bearing that in mind, I just have to get past the fact that there are rude people who shove ahead of me in line, traffic that can cause even the calmist driver to fret and a never ending wait to use the bathroom.

Yesterday as I was coming down the escalator at the Women of Faith conference I mentioned (shouted) to my friend that it looked like a sea of humanity. And it was. Everywhere I looked there were women. Some were talking, some were listening and some just were walking alone. But each and every one of them represented a soul that my Savior loves and died for. My question was and still is - how many of them know that?

Our world is a lonely place filled with people who struggle for a sense of connection. Many are born into circumstances where love is absent. Many are castaways - unwanted by family - and unloved by the world. Still others have lost their way on the journey of life. Perhaps they started down paths that led them to Christ but along the way choices pulled them off and now they too feel alone and abandoned. How heart wrenching it is to be alone and worse yet to feel unwanted and abandoned.

I believe that when Jesus looked out on the sea of humanity that followed Him everywhere He had a heart of compassion and love for them. And this is the heart that I believe He wants each of us who know Him to have and to share. But it is not easy. There is a real inconvenience about loving other people. I mean after all I might have to give up something that means the world to me. Or perhaps I would have to take a back seat or no seat at all in order to allow another to rest. Maybe I would have to shoulder more of the load in order to give a fellow laborer a much needed break. I might have to sacrifice.

Ah, there is the rub. I might have to sacrifice. Am I willing to do that? Could I give up what I feel I have rightfully earned in order for someone less fortunate than myself to enjoy a small pleasure? Could I invest valuable time in the life of someone else in order to see them come into the kingdom even if it meant I might not be able to indulge in an activity that I enjoy?

Do I really care about people or do I simply give it lip service? Oh Father, I pray that is not the case. I want to look out on the sea of humanity that crosses my daily path and have Your heart. I want to see the lonely faces and know that I have the answer that can give them peace that knows no understanding and the love that only comes from being a child of the King. Wash over me and cleanse me of the selfish spirit that wants what I want first and foremost. Allow me to enter into Your work with a renewed passion and a sense of earnestness and urgency. Take away any of the barriers that keep me from seeking Your best for the world that I am a part of. Help me to love as You love. Teach me to be a living sacrifice - wholly and acceptable unto You.