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Today’s passage made me think about a number of things. Whenever I prepare for a Hi-C message, I read the Scripture passage and I try to think about what you’re going through. I believe that the Bible and our faith has so much to say about life. One thing very special about our church is that we don’t try to teach you religion. Rather, we try to teach you about life, and what it is to live a truly good life. And we believe that our faith has a lot to say about the good life. So let’s reflect on what the passage has to say to us today.
Feeling alone in a crowd can be the scariest thing. It terrifies us. If we are alone in a crowd, it’s a visible sign that I am alone. That’s why when we’re surrounded by people, we want to make sure we have at least one person to be with, because the worst thing is to feel alone in that crowd. Because we’re so afraid to be alone, we want to belong in a crowd.
Our Hi-C has developed a strong group identity. We’ve become close, cohesive and have so much fun together. We’ve laughed together, cried together and prayed together. You guys have a group chat and love to hang out with one another.
But what can happen when you belong to a crowd? You can start to lose sight of what individuals in that crowd are going through. We have fun together as a group, but we’re oblivious or blind to the struggles of hardship that an individual in that group might be going through. Because I’m enjoying and comfortable in the crowd, I don’t notice when someone doesn’t feel connected to the group. By enjoying the comfort of the crowd, we can unintentionally exclude people.
In a crowd, a group dynamic and personality takes shape. You start to form memories together, and many inside jokes stem from these memories together – jokes that only people in the group understand. But what if someone is newer or hasn’t shared those same experiences with the group? They can feel excluded or like they don’t belong.
The message from today’s passage is that God seeks out those who are abandoned and rejected by the crowd. In our own group, there might be someone who feels left out, excluded or like they don’t belong. Normally, when someone is different – maybe they’re quieter, less outgoing, not funny, and haven’t shared the same experiences with the group – that person can feel like they don’t belong, even if they’re physically present in the group.
The message today is for us not to get too comfortable in the group. Rather, while being thankful for a community, we must keep our eyes open to those who might feel left out, and keep our eyes open for someone who might be going through a difficult time.
It’s much easier and more comfortable to enjoy the crowd that I’m familiar with. It takes more effort and more courage to seek out those who are excluded. But that’s what our faith and our God is about. We ask God to open our eyes to see what God sees: those are might be left out or going through a hard time.
So let’s ask ourselves: in our group – the Hi-C in this case – who might feel excluded? Who might be going through a tough time that I can offer my support to? What about in my group at school?
Cause here’s the thing: at the end of the day, we all feel alone, don’t we? When you’re alone in your room with the door closed, trying to do your homework, you’re alone in the swirl of thoughts in your head. You might face self-doubts in those moments. You might go through emotions or thoughts that you don’t share with anyone. You might be hurting from something. At some point, we’re all alone.
But the good news from today is that God seeks us out when we’re alone. God doesn’t seek out the crowd. God seeks out those who are lost and alone, just like the sheep who got lost. Let’s imagine what it might have been like for the lost sheep. When the sheep was with the other 100 sheep, it must have felt safe. But now that it was lost, I imagine a dark trail. How scary it must have been! It couldn’t see what was ahead because it was dark. It was quiet, without the familiar sounds of the other sheep. There might be a fierce predator lurking nearby, ready to sink its teeth into the sheep. It was all alone and scared.
That’s what we feel like many times – alone and scared. But this is when God seeks us out. When God finds us, God places us on his shoulders and rejoices at finding us. God is always looking for us, we just need to be sensitive to God’s presence. It’s when we’re alone that God tells that we’re NOT alone.
Being sensitive to God’s presence take time. It involves being in a relationship with God. So try to cultivate a relationship with God. When you’re alone in your thoughts, talk to God. Tell God what you’re going through and how you’re feeling. Ask for guidance and help. Give thanks to God for the blessings in your life. Ask God to open your eyes.
If you can develop this relationship with God, you will grow more confident in yourself. This way, you won’t need the crowd to make you feel better about yourself, because your confidence will come from God. When your confidence comes from God, then when you’re in the crowd you will be able to pay attention to those who might be excluded or be going through a tough time.
Let us turn to God when we are alone. Let us find our confidence in God. With this confidence, let us not rely on the crowd to feel good about ourselves and be too comfortable in it, but let us ask God to open our eyes to see what God sees: those who are left out and going through tough times.
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