The Value of One

Read--Luke 15: 4-7

Let's be honest about things--there are times when what Jesus says, or expects his followers to do, just doesn't make sense! It flies in the face of logic and reason and usually involves us taking some sort of risk. For the most part, human beings are turned off by risk. We want to be firmly in control of as many situations as possible. We even use the "risk/reward" system to reach and/or evaluate decisions or actions. Yet the Gospels make clear that God is willing to take any risk if it means the restoration of one sinner back to wholeness and relationship with God. That willingness to risk is illustrated here in this parable.

The shepherd in the parable takes two risks, both of which seem to be of the "huge" variety. First, the shepherd risks leaving 99 sheep out in the wilderness by themselves, without defense against predators, to go find one that has wandered away. That, in and of itself, makes little sense. Secondly, it was entirely likely that the sheep belonged to someone else! So the shepherd risks that which was not his to risk in the first place! To top it off, there is no gaurantee of even finding the sheep that was lost! But the shepherd was willing to assume all those risks, for the sake of that one. So it is with God. God was willing to leave all the righteous who had no need/desire of a savior to pursue after the lost one who did. This pursuit came at the cost of the life of God's Son, even when there were no gaurantees the lost sinner would return to the flock. The lesson is this...each of us is of that much worth to God. Each individual carries that much worth to God! Praise be to God!

The parable raises and interesting and potentially uncomfortable for the church: how much are we willing to risk so that even one sinner in our midst, in our community, might be restored to God? How much are we willing to give up, with no gaurantee of return? Jesus' challenge to us is to be like the shepherd who is willing to risk 99% of the flock so that 1 might be found.

This is the problem with being a disciple of Jesus. The teachings, the expectations, just don't make sense; they are so contradictory to our ways. Here's the biggest question of all though: are we willing to follow a Savior who embraces a way of life that demands we take enormous risks or are we so afraid of the risk that we sit on the sidelines?
God, we are simply amazed that you place so much value on each individual, on each one of us. We are humbled and grateful that you put aside everything else to pursue after us. As we have recieved this grace, may we also give this grace. As you have been willing, make us willing to set aside everything for the finding of even one of your sheep. We pray in Christ's name, AMEN.