Five Minute Friday: Crowd

Crowded. Bumped. Jostled. Shoved.  My three-year-old does this to me all the time.  In a careless manner, with all the less-than-gentle grace of a young child, she disturbs my balance and ultimately my equilibrium.  You see, I don't like crowds and I don't like feeling crowded.  I like my own space and I like to be treated with care.  So what spills out when I'm jostled?  On my better days, it's just indulgent exasperation. Understanding mingled with a gentle reminder to my daughter to be more careful.  On other days, it's an irritated scowl and an impatient reminder to be more careful.

Jesus was jostled by the crowds.  He was bumped, robbed of personal space, disturbed.  What was His response?  "Who touched me?" The disciples were shocked by such a question.  EVERYONE was touching Jesus. Touching was an understatement.  Everyone was pressed close.  Personal space was violated on all sides.  What could Jesus mean by such a question?  But in the crowd, through the press, Jesus saw the individual.  He saw the need of the woman with the blood disorder who reached out to Jesus in a cry for help, in a faith-filled plea.  And he understood the motive and the reason behind the touch.

What would happen if I thought like Jesus?  If I looked beyond the crowding, jostling disturbance of a grace-less, clambering little girl and saw the need of her heart, the need of the moment? Would I respond with more grace and love?  With a directed gaze to see beyond the momentary irritation to the childlike exuberance or plea?

"Crowd my heart, Lord, 'til it is filled with You, 

so when I'm jostled, only Your love spills over!"