One Face in a Million

People are very limited in their knowledge and relationships.

I know many faces, and I am on a genial level with a number of people, but I am only close with a select few.

Think about it: how many people in the world do you actually know?

Imagine a circle that represents your intimate friends and family. Those you trust. Those you know. Those you love. Fairly decent size, maybe; not too big.

Now imagine a circle that represents acquaintances - people you know of, people you have met. People you talk to and whose company you even enjoy. Perhaps the guy who runs the gas station down the street, or your doctor, or a fellow employee, etc. It's a bit bigger than the first circle, isn't it?

Finally, imagine a circle that represents all the people you have never met. How big is that circle?

Do you feel like one single, insignificant face among millions? I do sometimes.

I walk into a grocery store and see all of these faces I don't know. Sometimes I drive down the road, looking at cars passing me by, and wondering who the driver is. What their life is like. Who they know. Who they love. But I don't know. I can only speculate, and even my speculation can't go far. I don't know them. They are distanced from me by my and their limitations.

I have sent thank-you notes to authors and artists in the past. People I respect and admire. Their responses have always been kind and gracious, yet there is a distant feeling within them. I don't blame them for that; they don't really know me, even if they appreciate my appreciativeness. I'm a single, unknown face in a sea of faces. There's no personal attachment. There are too many fans to know them all closely.

But it's not the same with God. For all the people He knows, all the faces He sees, it's as if there's just me. Just you. He loves each of us so fully, so intimately; there is nothing hidden from Him. He knows us better than we even know ourselves. We are not one insignificant face in the world, but a face that means the world to Him. We are one in a million; precious; priceless to God. Isn't that amazing?

He never forgets a face, He never loses touch, He never answers our questions and prayers with a distant response. He is close, personal, loving, welcoming, open. He is the Father. He listens. He loves.

So don't think that God is distant or uninvolved. Don't think that He does not know your face or your name. He knows. He's there.

"An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others."

- A. W. Tozer