A Face in the Crowd

Have you ever felt like just a face in the crowd when it comes to your relationship with Jesus?  I know the Bible answer is that Jesus knows me intimately and is always aware of my wants and needs.  But I asked if you ever just feel like a face in the crowd.  That may be especially true for those of us who grew up feeling as if they really didn’t matter. Perhaps, your needs weren’t met at home.  You probably had food, clothing and shelter but, perhaps, your needs beyond that weren’t met or even considered. Your thoughts and opinions were never asked for and never heard. If you tried to speak up you were silenced or ignored. Your siblings, however, seemed to be valued and heard much more than you.  Even friends of the family got your father’s attention but he never seemed to have time for you.  Instead of getting your father’s full attention you seemed to be a nuisance.  In some cases, a parent was unavailable because of a divorce or work. In some way, you felt unimportant to those you looked to for support, encouragement and guidance.

That, of course was not everyone’s experience, but it was the experience of many of us. So, when we become members of God’s family, we wonder how truly important we are to him and if he hears our prayers and if they truly matter to Him. Again, I know what the Bible says about it but my heart doesn’t always line up with my head.  Of course, the enemy knows from years of observation that I still wonder if I truly matter, so his whispers reinforce my doubts.

For years, I felt like just a face in the crowd in heaven - like a crowd at a football game where the winning coach was talking about how much he loved the fans. Maybe he loved us as a group, but he really didn’t know my name or any details about my life. We all got in.  We all got a seat.  If there were give-aways, we all got one. But I was still just a face in the crowd. I wondered how God could actually pay attention and be personally aware of so many individuals and their wants and needs.  I still don’t understand how he does it, but I have come to believe that he is aware and does care about everything. When we speak, he listens intently.

Many scriptures help me with that, but I want to consider two. The first is in the letter to the Hebrews:

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Heb. 12:22-23).  Here the writer has contrasted Mount Zion and Mt. Sinai.  Sinai was where God gave Israel the Law.  It was a fearful experience for them…dark clouds, lightening, a trumpet sound that was deafening, warnings that if they touched the mountain they would die. He contrasts Sinai with our meeting place under the New Covenant.  That meeting is described as a joyful assembly.  Angels are welcoming, not feared.  And the church of the firstborn is there. 

The interesting thing in that phrase is that firstborn is plural.  It could be translated, “first born ones.” I always assumed he was referencing Jesus as his firstborn, but the plural suggests that he actually loves each of us as a firstborn.  In Jewish culture, the firstborn was especially loved and received double the inheritance of his siblings.  In essence, he was the favorite because he was the first that guaranteed the father had an heir to carry on the family name.  If you have skimmed through all the genealogies in the Bible, you know that bloodlines are important so heirs are important.  You are loved and watched over by God as a firstborn child.  You are not just a face in the crowd, but you are especially loved by the Father who knows your name and address.  He knows your thoughts and dreams. 

Not only that, but he has specific plans for your life that he watches over.  Our second scripture to consider is Psalm 139. David declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them” (Ps.139:14-17).

Even before you were born, your heavenly Father was watching over you, making plans for you, and writing them down. He formed your DNA, crafted you for a specific purpose, assigned his angels to you, and now directs your steps. He thinks about you all the time.  You were never just a face in the crowd or part of a large group picture.  Your picture is on his refrigerator!

Even if you wander from his plans, like the father of the Prodigal son (Lk. 15), he is still waiting for you and prompting you to return home.  When you return, he will celebrate and restore your position in the family. 

If you sometimes doubt your value or feel like some unnamed face in the crowd, consider those passages.  Ask God to reveal you how important and known you are to him. Pray for a revelation of how much you mean to him. Paul wrote, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:17-19).

Our security and faith is found in knowing the character of our God and the depth of his love for each of us. I encourage you to take some time each day to reflect on his heart for you and his faithfulness.