Can't See the Savior for the Saved

Sporting events and concerts aren't the only time crowds can become an issue.

Mark 2:1-4 (NIV)
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. (To read the rest of the story, click here.)

From my journal, November 21, 2000
Today, what strikes me about this story are the crowds of people who wanted to see Jesus, who wanted to hear Jesus  -  people who, for the most part, really thought Jesus was special  -  it is this crowd of people who are blamed by Mark as being the reason the crippled man's friends couldn't get the guy to Jesus.

Lord, are there times when we exclude...when the church is so intent on peripherals...that we actually make it harder for people to come to know You?

(Duh.)

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Truth is...and it's a sad truth...whether it's a concentration on showmanship during "worship" or selfishness during the week, sometimes the biggest hindrances to seekers becoming believers are the people who already believe. Or, as C. S. Lewis put it: "When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world."