I have gone to church all my life really and have seen so many places of worship. Many of them have the picture of the shepherd holding the one wayward lamb. It is a picture that’s depicting A parable told by Christ. He says” what do you think? If a man owns 100 sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about the one sheep than the 99 that didn’t wander off. In the same way your father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” I know you have probably heard this story before. We even sing about it in worship songs such as “Reckless Love” which declares “Oh, the overwhelming, never ending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights till I’m found, leaves the 99.”  Although most of us have seen this painting and even have sung this song, I’m going to go deeper today into the idea of for the one.

In our world, well at least in America, it is all about quantity. We want more, more, and more. That is how we like it. One is never enough, not enough to celebrate and not enough to be satisfied. Oh, you may have 1 degree? But should you have more. Doesn’t that make you more prestigious, wealthier, and have more influence. This has become the American way. We crave likes and followers more and more of them. We want to have a greater sphere of influence. We are made to feel inadequate if we don’t have this large following or millions of likes. Even I have fallen into that trap before. But as a believer is this how we should live? Should our focus be on getting more likes for Jesus? Should our focus be on influencing greater and greater spheres for Christ? I would argue that the answer is no. Let me explain.

We feel this constant pressure to be like Paul, John, or Luke.  Really like any of the other great apostles in scripture. If I preach, I should be like Paul and Peter, boldly speaking and preaching to hundreds that come to Christ. Or like Luke, writing many gospels that tell of Christ and his life for all the people to read. We think that we should be like these great influencers of the faith right? Isn’t that what God expects of you. Isn’t that why he’s made you? So, you should push aside all responsibilities or goals and just invest in Kingdom building, big Kingdom building. This doesn’t sound wrong, but it is flawed thinking. You see our callings are all different, our spheres of influence vary. We were called to share and to share where we are. 

If you are a mother or a father, you were called to the ministry of parenthood. Your flock is the flock of your children that you are called to tend, they are your responsibility and your first mission field. If you are a husband or wife you are called to the ministry of serving and loving your spouse. Every role and job we have, we are to serve and minister in it.  Above anything else you are called to people in your life around you, that you see every day.  To serve them, to encourage them, to love them, and to teach them about how God loves them through your words and actions. Your mission is not less important because it is only to one or a few. Why is that? That’s because one matters more than many to God. We need to wrap our minds around this paradox. God has laid out in his unfathomable wisdom the idea that one matters more than many. Quality of relationships and ministry matters more than the quantity.

I have a dear friend who took care of her husband for over a decade after he had lost his short-term memory due to a heart attack. She lovingly served him and took care of him day after day after day. Although he mattered a great deal to my friend and she loved him deeply, the truth is he mattered to just a few people in this world. He had no renown that people saw, and he might not have been important to the majority of the people in the world around him but Richard, her husband, mattered to God. He was the least of these that scripture speaks of, and my friend served him faithfully all of those years. She served God by serving her husband so lovingly. That’s how it works, we serve God by serving others. That is significant in God’s eyes. There are so many people who serve God by serving just one or a few others. In our society they have no significance, and their efforts are seen as not important but to Christ their contribution is significant. They go after the one, they care for them, and bring it back home.

I’m sure you could think of someone like my friend who has invested and built God’s Kingdom in ways others see as small or just to a few but it’s not small in God’s eyes.

Don’t believe the lie that you need more.  It is not true that you need more to actually have significant influence and that are not great unless you do what others consider as great. The truth is, if your whole life was for one moment, for one person you love, for one life you touch and serve, it was enough. It is significant, and you are essential. Does one fence post in the fence seem significant to you? What if it is not there?  The post is part of the whole, serving its part. Without that one post something would be missing. Do you get my point? 

Whatever you do, whoever Christ has given you to touch and serve or to influence, do that. He has placed you where he needs you and put others there for you to reach out to and love.  Don’t worry about how significant others see you or how many likes you get on social media. For just one God would go and for just one he would call you and place you where he has. There is no insignificant ministry or effort to God, there is no just in his book. Each soul is significant, and he does not want to lose a single one. Remember he doesn’t want even one to perish.

Today I pray you see that your value is not assigned according to your likes or how many people applaud your efforts. Your significance in God’s eyes isn’t based on others liking your post or even recognizing you in public. No one here on earth or their opinion matters ultimately. To God you are worth so much that he gave his son for you! For everyone else he feels the same. I pray you can see this, and you can understand this today. That you stop putting on yourself the responsibility of saving the whole world. He loved you when you had nothing worth offering him and he loves you still just the same. You need to just be what he called you to be and let him save, spread, and change other people’s hearts.

So, I ask you today, what do you think, is the one just as important or just as significant as the 99? Yes, in God’s eyes it is and I sincerely hope that you will begin to see it that way too.