I watched the "old" movie Cheaper By The Dozen the other day with my kids. There are several scenes in the film where all the kids try to get the parent's attention at once. They don't really succeed, and everyone ends up frustrated. It made me think about how crazy it would be to have that many children and how divided my attention would be amongst them. Most people can relate to how hectic that would feel as a parent. We can observe this concept of being "lost in the crowd" almost everywhere, actually. Whether it's a theme park, a large gathering, or as a citizen in your country, it's easy to feel like just a number.
This is so commonly observed that it's easy to transpose the same concept onto God. You've no doubt heard the idea voiced that God "is busy running a universe." The conclusion is that God doesn't have time to be bothered with our trivial human issues. As believers, we probably know that isn't correct. Still, it's such a common worldview and observable in so many human institutions that it's easy to default to a similar belief.
You Have God's undivided Attention
A few weeks ago, I was in a prayerful moment, and I heard the Lord speak to me. What I heard in my heart (and was a pretty random thought at the moment) is, "I am not divided, and the cross is not divided." At that moment, I began to see a glimpse of the revelation of how unlimited God really is. His attention for each individual is the same now as when he first created mankind. He is involved in our lives as if we were the only person on the planet! We are never in a situation of trying to get God's attention. He is always looking at us, individually, with undivided attention. Just being aware of that is encouraging!
He Died Just For You
The second part was "the cross is not divided." In the same way that God's attention for each of us is unlimited and undivided, so was the work of Jesus on the cross. Jesus didn't see Himself as dying for an entire world. He saw Himself dying for each individual that would ever live or had lived in that world. It was very personal to Him. If we were the only person to ever exist or say yes to Him, He would still have paid that price. Paul uses language in Romans 14 that infers this as well. He tells the Roman church to take care to not offend a fellow believer and refers to them as "the one for whom Christ died." That is such a personal statement. He died for that individual. He died for you, and he died for me, each one of us personally. He is the Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one.
I hope this encourages you as much as it did me and serves as a small reminder next time you are confronted with one of life's many issues. You aren't alone in the crowd, forced to sort out your life on your own. You aren't calling out for the attention of a distant and distracted God. You have the full attention of a God and Savior who loves you infinitely, and He will never leave or forsake you.
Written By: Travis McDaniel
