Lord, Give Me Your Eyes.

Still humbled and convicted by Jesus' response to the crowd that greeted him on the shore (Mt.14:14). With the troubling news of John the Baptist's death fresh in His mind, the weight of the constant press of ministry (Mk.6:31), and the reality of the cross before Him, He had every reasonable expectation of a break from ministry. He had withdrawn with His disciples hoping to get to a "lonely place". His vision of reaching an isolated beach to spend some "down time" was shattered as nearly 20,000 people (5,000 men plus women and children) greeted Him. Everywhere Jesus went He had a crowd--by the sea, in the synagogue, in people's homes, and now in this remote area. I can fully imagine that I would have been tempted to get back in the boat and head in the opposite direction. But that is not the action He took or the example He set. He wasn't perturbed, but pitied as He, "felt compassion for them". He was viscerally moved with pity, empathy, sympathy. Oh, that I would see those around me as Jesus did, "like sheep w/o a shepherd" (Mk.6:34). That I would, like Jesus, not simply be moved by their physical affliction, but by their desperate spiritual condition. "Let me look on the crowd as my Savior did; till my eyes with tears grow dim. Let me view with pity the wandering sheep, and love them for the love of Him."