We love big visions.
Change the world. Reach the city. Transform a generation.
But Jesus often begins somewhere smaller.
In Luke 15, He tells a story about a shepherd with one hundred sheep. When one wandered away, he left the ninety-nine together in the open field and went after the one that was lost. Not because the ninety-nine did not matter, but because the one was exposed. Vulnerable. Alone.
For Jesus, the one was never a distraction from the mission. The one was the mission.
We hear about changing the world and feel the pressure rise. Too many needs. Too many hurting people. Too many conversations that feel intimidating. So we hesitate.
Yet the way of Christ isn’t always to reach everyone at once. It’s usually to care for someone specific.
One neighbor who is weary. One coworker carrying quiet grief. One friend who feels unseen. One awkward lunch. One simple text. One honest prayer.
Heaven rejoices over one person who is found. Which means what feels ordinary to you may be eternal in impact.
You were once the one. Not a project. Not a number. A person. Wandering more than you knew. Carrying what you could not fix. Maybe running. Maybe numb. Maybe convinced you were fine. And He came for you anyway. Not with shame, but with pursuit. He carried you home. And heaven rejoiced over you.
To reveal Christ and renew lives often begins with one person, even when God moves through crowds. It begins when we notice one person the way He noticed us.
Read: Luke 15:1-7
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “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? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Reflect: Who is the one God is inviting you to see this week?
Based on the sermon, “Start With One” by Pastor James Marano
