Some of us have heard the news reports that Billy Graham died a few weeks ago. If you haven’t heard of him, he was an evangelist called by God and preached Jesus to many millions of people and saw them give their lives to Jesus. But do you know what I find so remarkable and encouraging about his life – it’s that when Billy was saved, he was saved in a revival meeting and he was the only person saved. The story goes that the only person this man led to Jesus was Billy but what an impact that had.
This story gives me hope for the one. What if we all led one person to Jesus and that person did the same, very soon all the world would have had the opportunity to come to know Jesus. That is exciting – so why isn’t it happening. I believe that we think that God doesn’t care about the one – He only cares about multitudes when they come to a meeting or go to church. But Jesus clearly tells us in the parables that He cares for the one. In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables that all have the same message.
The first one is the lost sheep. That parable states that if a man has 100 sheep and loses 1, he will forget about it and concentrate on the 99. No – it states that he will leave the 99 and go and find the lost one. When he finds it, he will party with his friends and neighbours. The message of that parable is that all heaven rejoices when one sinner is saved.
The second one is the lost coin. The parable states that a woman has 10 coins and loses 1. Does she forget about it and consider it insignificant? No – she sweeps her house and searches carefully until she finds it. She also parties with her friends and neighbours. The message of that parable states that there is joy in the presence of the angels when one sinner is saved.
The third one is the lost son. The parable states that a man has 2 sons and 1 decides to leave his fathers house and in essence becomes lost to the things he once knew and the lifestyle he once lived. The son parties with his friends and loses everything. He remembers what he has lost and decides to come home. The father welcomes him home and throws a party. However, in this case, all are not glad to see him -especially his brother. Why? Because all that the father had, the son who stayed had access to it but refused to use the resources he had been given. His mindset was slave not son.
I find it interesting in these three parables that the percentage lost gradually became bigger. In the first parable it was 1%, the second parable was 10% and the third parable was 50%. But to God percentages matter little, what matters most is the one.
That is what we should be concerned about too. We need to live our daily lives looking for the one we can impact. It might be someone in your workplace, your school or your home. Whoever it is could be the next one called by God to lead millions to know Jesus or change a nation for Jesus. Keep praying and believing and God will show you the one.
Bless you heaps and keep living the life God intended for you!
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