One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. (V 1-3 NIV)
Often when Jesus showed up, spontaneous crowds gathered. He didn’t post His schedule in the Jerusalem Times. He wasn’t Tweeting or updating his friends and fans on Face Book. No one was coordinating his press releases with the Fox News web site. Local TV anchors were not jockeying for satellite truck parking space. Yet the crowds came - and when the crowds came, Jesus taught. He knew the will of our Father was to minister to these followers where they were. He also knew their human needs. In this case, when the crowd became too large for Him to effectively talk to, He pushed out a little way in a borrowed boat so that all could hear Him speak – and taking away their ability to say, “I saw Him, but the crowd was too large and noisy. I only heard part of what He said.”
On my own, I don’t have the charisma that Jesus had, nor the insight to always know where the people who need to hear His word are. But because Jesus still knows all our needs, am I trying daily to be aware of the opportunities that Jesus gives me to share His message – sometimes one on one, sometimes to a small group, and maybe even to a crowd? Do I lean on Him to always show me the bait I need to use to bring them close so that they can truly experience Him?
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