“And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.” (Mark 3:21)
How would you like it if everywhere you went there were people surrounding you, clamoring for your attention, pressing in from all sides continuously to be near to you, the closest one to you? How long would it take before you became “beside yourself?” Agitated, frustrated, upset, just wanting to get away from all of them and finding a place of solitude, a place of rest from the masses?
Contemplate this question, if you can hear Him, do you need to see Him, if you can see Him, do you need to be as close to Him as possible? Is it enough to be in His presence, or do you need to cling to His garments? Is it necessary for you to be at His feet, or are you satisfied with being in His company?
“The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
Virtue went out from our Savior, perhaps that was the reason so many wanted to be as close as possible to Him, perhaps some wanted to be as close as possible to the Divine because of some emotional need, thinking the closer to Him, the greater the blessing.
The constant clamoring, the constant and continual wants, the pressing of the crowd just to be as close to Him as possible was enough that day to become beside Himself, and His disciples recognized it. Each one of these people in every crowd He found Himself in wanted something for themselves, whether it was healing or some other form of deliverance.
They wanted to be as close to Him as possible for personal reasons.
If that statement is truth, then they were not seeking the face of God for who He is, but for selfish reasons.
If you want something from the Almighty, you are not seeking for the Almighty for who He is, you want what He can give you, and until you realize this truth, until you accept it in yourself, it will not matter how close you attempt to get to Him, you will have missed the mark.
“And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.” (Luke 19:4)
Zacchaeus, short of stature, could have pushed through the crowd to get to our Lord, but it was enough for him just to see Him walk past, and that faith changed his life and eternal resting place that day.
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” (John 8:56)
Faith my friends, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ does not come by touching His garment, by pressing through the crowd to get as close to Him as possible, it does not come by sight. Faith trusts in the promises as much as when He is far away from us in that dry and thirsty land as it does when we are in His presence, and the immense joy can be felt in our hearts.
Consider this, those who were furthest away from Him who could still hear His words clearly, and understood them as truth from the Father, may have rested in a greater assurance of their faith, because it was not grounded by an emotional need to be as close to His person as possible. Their faith was not based on being as close to Him as they could, but on Him.
I pray that you can comprehend these truths, that your faith does not rest on a foundation of an emotional response, but on Christ, on the promises of the Word of God, on the Rock of our salvation, on who He is not what He can do for us.
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
You will see Him, you will speak with Him face to face, give Him a big hug if you feel a need to then, or bow at His feet. Just remember, the just live by faith, not sight.
