Just Another Face in the Crowd

How often do you feel like "just another face in the crowd"--as if the vast majority of humanity couldn't care less about your hopes, dreams, and worries? Have you ever been tempted to stand on a corner and scream, "Can't anybody see that I matter?"

One of the most beautiful elements of Jesus's ministry was the way He singled out those "faces in the crowd" to assure them they did matter. Often they themselves were so convinced otherwise that the most they expected was some token benefit. The woman who touched His cloak never expected that He would not only heal her, but stop to give her His full attention and His blessing--and that while He was being hurried on the way to heal someone from a more "important" family. Zacchaeus hoped only for a passing glimpse of Jesus; he got a full day's worth of personal attention and a promise of salvation.

It's the same for all of us. No matter what others think of us--no matter what we have done or not done--God finds us worthy of His attention.

Just another face,
She was just another face in the crowd,
A face alone and rejected,
Suffering and neglected,
Until the day
She saw the Lord was coming--
Oh, the crowd was humming--
Coming her way.
She only meant to touch Him quickly--
She, so poor and sickly--
And fade back into the crowd.
But He stopped: "Who did it?"
Though at first she hid it,
Yet His eyes kept seeking,
Till He saw her peeking,
Peeking out through the crowd.
She stepped forth, confessing,
And He smiled that day,
And with words of blessing,
He sent her on her way,
No longer just another face in the crowd.

Just another face,
He was just another face in the crowd,
A face scorned and hated,
Rich and yet frustrated,
Until the day
He heard the Lord was coming--
Oh, the crowd was humming--
Coming his way.
He only meant to snatch a quick peek--
He, so small and so weak--
When he climbed above the crowd.
Jesus stopped: "Come down, friend";
Others gaped to no end,
But the Lord said, "This day,
I will show you the Way,"
And they walked through the crowd.
That day they shared dinner,
And salvation came
To a former sinner,
Now washed clean from all blame,
No longer just another face in the crowd.

Just another face,
I was just another face in the crowd,
A face lost and lonely,
And despairing only,
Until the day
I heard the Lord came for me--
That He could adore me--
He Who was the Way.
I only asked for one thing--
Me, so close to nothing--
To be a part of Heaven's crowd.
But He gazed upon me,
His whole view full on me,
And He told me, "Listen"--
How my eyes did glisten--
"I know each of 'the crowd,'
Each a special person.
I have work for you--
A task strong and certain
None but you can do;
You are not just another face in the crowd."