The Crowd around Us

“The mother of Jesus and His brothers came to Him but were unable to join Him because of the crowd.” Luke 8:19

Jesus’ family wanted to reach Him but they could not because of the people surrounding Him. Sometimes we too want to be with Jesus but too many things get in the way. A “crowd” of tasks to do that need to be prioritised, a “crowd” of people to talk to, to minister to, to visit, a “crowd” of activities in church, in our organizations  and self-care groups. Then there are the “crowd” of distractions that can fill up hours of our time, Facebook, and Netflix, and music and drinking. Do we intentionally make room for Jesus or do we allow the crowds to jostle us out? 

I like the popular time management analogy. A philosophy professor put rocks in a large glass jar and asked his class if they thought the glass jar was full. They said yes. Then he filled it with little pebbles, shook the jar till the pebbles fit in all the nooks. Again the students said it was full. Then he poured in sand and the sand filled up the remaining space. “Is it full?” Everyone said yes, except one young man who said, “You can still put water in.”

“Yes you could. But what would have happened if you put the water in first, and filled it up to the top? Would there have been space for the rocks?” Every one shook their head. “Well the rocks represent what is important in our life. It should come first in the management of our time. If we fill our time and schedule with watching telenovelas, going through Facebook, and other diversions, we will not be able to make a life of purpose and meaning for ourselves.” 

Let us not allow the “crowd” to keep us from Jesus!