I get up early and enjoy a quiet coffee morning because I miss God. Something in me wants to be with my Maker. Like, I just want to sit beside Him and hear His voice. So, I open up His Word to Matthew 5, where Jesus teaches about life to this great big crowd of people and I listen to Him talking.
He speaks.
"Seeing the crowds, He went up on a mountain, and when He sat down, the disciples came to Him." (Matt. 5:1)
Just one verse. That's all I need for now. This is Jesus talking to me. His words nourish my heart and I think about what He means. He saw the crowds . . . when Jesus looked out into a crowd of people, He didn't just see a sea of faces. He saw each individual person standing there with all their soul-ache. He knew where each one had come from, all that they'd been through, and He looked deep into every single heart. They could hide behind each other if they wanted, but they couldn't hide all their insides from Him. Not from the God who sees past all the skin into what makes us who we really are.
Then I think about the crowd in my own heart. I mean, don't we all carry a crowd of people around in our heart? I look inside and I see a myriad of people that I love and pray for and I carry them with me and wonder if God sees them. And He does. He sees and knows, intimately knows each heart and He aims to speak into their life.
I ponder more of His words. He went up on a mountain . . . He sat down. This God who made the mountains, now humble like us, climbing up all the dirt and rocks so He could look out into all the faces. And He sits down. God sits down. He's not too busy. He's not too rushed. He doesn't have too much to do. This is His important thing. To sit and speak words that help and heal to whoever will sit still enough to listen. And all their lives, these people had missed God. Something deep inside them had always wanted to be with Him and now here He was. So they sat a while and spent time with the One who could see past the facade, right into all their brimming ache. They were hungry and His words fed them. They were soul-shattered and His words made them whole.
The disciples came to Him. And aren't I His follower, too? So I come to Him on a quiet coffee morning and sit at His feet. Because I miss God and I want to be with Him. He's my Maker, and He's also my friend.
And this Jesus, He still looks out across the world and sees the crowds of people. And in a sea of faces, He still knows the heart behind each one. And He still sits and speaks words that nourish and bring life. To whoever will stop long enough to listen.
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