The Value of One

My oldest son and hubby are Trekkies. (Though he'll probably freak out at me posting this, my son even had a Star Trek costume as a child and frequently donned it to be "beamed up." But I digress...)



To our human way of thinking we "get it" when Spock says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." But in God's upside-backwards kingdom (a post for another day), He places prime importance, worth, and value in the one.



So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?....Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?....  ~Luke 15:3-4, 8 (NASB) 



Luke 15 then goes on to tell the story of the prodigal son. The father could have written off the younger son. After all, he still had a son who had not left to waste his inheritance.



But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ~Luke 15:20 (NASB) 



I can only speak for myself, but I'm grateful God doesn't have a quota of people to reach and then writes off the rest.



Neither should we.



I'm reminded of the story of a little boy who spent hours picking up beached starfish and flinging them back into the ocean. After watching him for a while, a man approached and told him, "Son, you'll never be able to save all these starfish. Go enjoy your day. This doesn't really matter."



The boy never stopped. Instead he picked up yet another starfish and tossed it into the waves before he turned to face the man. "It mattered to that one."



Heavenly Father, thank You that the one matters to You. Help us to have that same mindset. May we not get so sidetracked about reaching the masses that we see past the one You've placed in our path today. May we be busy carrying out Your mission of seeking out the lost. Amen.