One is the smallest whole number. Yet, sometimes, one can bring a big smile. Recently, a little girl I love dearly came to me at church and wanted a piece of gum. I searched my purse as she stood watching. I found an empty box that had been filled with gum a couple of weeks earlier. She looked in my purse and said, “Maybe a piece fell out into the bottom.” I pulled everything out, and there was one piece! The smile was so big it brought joy to my heart. She was a happy little girl. Her persistence had paid off. This is precisely what happened in Luke chapter 15 when God teaches us the value of one.
In Luke 15:4, Jesus teaches of a man who has 100 sheep. One of the sheep is missing. The Shepherd leaves the 99 to seek and find the one lost sheep. This sheep is lost to the flock. He will not have communion with the sheep, and the flock will miss him. This sheep is lost to himself. He doesn’t know where he is or where he is going. He is wandering aimlessly. He will be exposed to other animals that can devour him. All sheep are vulnerable and need a shepherd for protection and guidance to the proper places to feed. He needs other sheep for companionship and comfort. He cannot find his way back by himself when he is lost.
The shepherd goes seeking to find the one that is lost. It is not enough that he still has 99; he cares for each of them as if they were the only ones, and his mission is to search until he finds the lost one. When he finds him, he does not lead him or herd him back to the fold. He picks him up and carries him all the way home. He rejoices, and when he returns home, he calls all his friends and neighbors to come and celebrate with him.
Luke 15:4-6 “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he laid it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
You may say, “What’s the big deal over one sheep?” Jesus was teaching us the value of one soul. In verse 7, He gives us the lesson we must understand about the one lost sheep. God pursues each and every one of us as if we were the only person on earth. There is no one more valuable or loved than another. Several verses teach us that God does not want anyone to perish.
II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
I Timothy 2:4 “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Jesus continues to speak to them and now uses the parable of the lost coin. A poor widow had ten pieces of silver and lost one. She diligently searched and did not stop looking when the sun went down. She lit a candle and continued to sweep until she found it. Jesus is teaching the importance of each of us to God. In Luke 15:7 and 15:10, when the one sheep and one coin were found, there was joy in heaven. Joy as we have never known. God longs for everyone to be saved and spend eternity with Him.
Luke 15:8-9 “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.”
Luke 15:7 “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
Luk 15:10 “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
No one is beyond God’s reach. He can and will save anyone who will turn to Him in repentance. When someone turns to Him away from their sins, heaven rejoices. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus proclaims, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” He knocks and desires that we will open and accept Him, but He will not push Himself on anyone. However, when we open, there is rejoicing in Heaven. We are important to God!
It is our responsibility to find those who have never heard or accepted Jesus and lead them to Him. After salvation, we are left here to be seed Sowers, and when we do our part, the harvest will be seen in Heaven. We need to go find the one!
