What do you see?

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." -- Matthew 9:36

Crowds may mean very little to you, but where I grew up there were crowds of all kinds. We lived in the metropolitan region of New York City. People were in abundance and they were everywhere. The interesting question is this: what goes through the mind when we are surrounded by crowds? Do we see them as a burden, or do we see their burdens?

Jesus was never impersonal or uncaring about the multitudes that followed him. He saw their emptiness and their need for someone to care. He saw their broken and storm ravaged lives and he was moved with compassion. Their need for the Shepherd touched him to the core. To Jesus, they were never a burden; with eyes of love he just saw their burdens.

Are you upset and irritated when you are surrounded by too many people at the mall, on the road or in the grocery store? What do you see with your "born again" transformed eyes? Do you see them as Jesus sees them? Do you see that … "People need the Lord"?