Sunday, December 3, 2017

How Valuable is One Person to God?

Perhaps you feel you are only one and that makes you insignificant. I would argue, that is what makes you significant.

Isn’t that incredible? What if you were the only person in the world? Would God love you? “But I am only one person among billions,” you might say.

Somehow, I don’t think God is all that distracted by what all the others are doing. I don’t think he has any intention of letting a single individual of his own slip through the cracks but if one did, he would still pursue that one like a hound dog on the scent of someone lost in a deep southern black canyon until he found him.

If one out of a hundred sheep is lost, the Shepherd searches for him until he finds him and does not force him to find his own way back. He puts him on his shoulders and carries him back.[i]

If a dear lady loses one out of ten coins, she will settle for no less than a full dowry.[ii] She will sweep and scour for that one coin.[iii]

If one out of two sons is lost, the Father pursues him even to the point that the elder son is offended and embarrassed by the amount of attention that his wasteful brother gets from their dad. But, the Father is not embarrassed by the offensive appearance and smell of a young man who has been living in the unkosher pigpens of a distant, heathen land.[iv]

The man had forfeited only one son. We might wonder why he didn't just cut his loss and be happy for the son who still remained?

The woman still had nine coins. Couldn’t she just be happy with what she had?

The Shepherd had ninety-nine sheep remaining in his fold. He still had 99% of his flock and lost just 1%. It was probably normal to lose a few animals out of a herd. “Call it good and move on,” his friends probably said.

But not one individual is irredeemable in the eyes of God. He paid the extreme price of the death of his Son so each one might be saved.

How much are you and I worth to God? Within ourselves – nothing, but when we consider the price God paid for our salvation, we can say that we are worth much – of infinite in value to him. There is nothing that our God would not do for his children and for those he intends to make his children. He proves this to us through the awfulness of the cross.

He says that not one sparrow can fall to the ground without his notice and we are far more valuable to him that many of those little birds.

He knows the number of hairs on your head. I cannot even count the number of hairs in my nose, let alone my sparse head!

Believe in the God who loves you and gave his Son to die so you might be saved. You can trust the one who knows all about you and loves you more than any other. If you will believe, you will be saved.


Inspired by a sermon preached by my pastor, Lash Banks -



[i] Luke 15.4-10
[ii] Manners and Customs of Biblical Lands, Fred Wight, 1953, p. 40
[iii] Luke 15.8-9
[iv] Luke 15.10-32

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