Lost in the crowd.

“After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out in a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Revelation 7:9-10

Campus sure is crowded these days, isn’t it? The parking lots are packed, hallways are swarming with bodies, and the classrooms of gen ed courses are bursting at the seams. People are everywhere.

It’s easy to feel lost in crowds like these.  

Today, John gives us a picture of an even greater mass of people. A crowd that is so grand that you’re sure to feel lost.

Thousands upon thousands. Millions upon millions. All Christians of all times and all places gathered together with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven – all of them, joined together in one place, in one crowd, in one endless herd.

John’s picture gets bigger and bigger. It’s like with each and every detail, he zooms out, and you see more and more of the crowd until your mind boggles! You simply cannot comprehend the enormity of it all. You cannot comprehend the sheer magnitude of this crowd! It's a crowd so enormous that John doesn’t even dare hazard a guess at its number.

Yes, this is the type of crowd you could get lost in.

As John zooms out one person blends into another. No angel, no human creature is distinct, no individual can be distinguished. They’re all lost in a sea of nameless, faceless creatures. If you’re afraid of crowds, this is definitely no place for you!

This scene makes us feel so tiny, so insignificant! So, how is this different than any other crowd? How is this different than the world’s herd? Is this a sea in which you’ll be lost, simply a mass, a herd of people praising and worshipping a King like drones?

No.

Everything is huge beyond our wildest imaginations. John’s scene is so large it blurs at the edges. But then, notice what happens. Just when our minds are about to explode, all of a sudden, everything gets small.

The sea of nameless, faceless creatures disappears.

The thunderous chorus and orchestra die away and give way to a duet.

Instead of the crowd, we see two, only two sheep.

One of these Sheep is also a Shepherd.

And this Shepherd is also the King.

And this other sheep – who is the second one?

The other sheep is you.

It’s here, it’s here in this narrow, focused picture, it’s here that we see what kind of crowd, what kind of herd, God has called you to. It’s a tremendously huge crowd, far greater than you could possibly imagine. But it’s not the type of crowd in which you get lost. No, this is the type of crowd in which you are found.

It’s the Shepherd Himself who finds you. He seeks out you, just you. And with His own hand, He wipes away the very last tear from your eye.