God made only one of us!

Luke 15:1-10

Dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus’ sermons; but this caused complaints from the Jewish religious leaders and the experts on Jewish law because he was associating with such despicable people—even eating with them!So Jesus used this illustration: “If you had a hundred sheep and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. When you arrived you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found. “Well, in the same way heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who haven’t strayed away!“Or take another illustration: A woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it? And then won’t she call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her? In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents.”

Food for thought!

The parables of the lost sheep and of lost coin are a clear indication that in God's economy everybody counts. It means that one is as good as many and many are as good as one. Why this? Because there's none of us somewhere else; if any of us is lost there's no more of us living somewhere. It means there's is only one of you, only one of me; you're not repeated and are not repeatable. When we're lost we're lost because they is no substitute. This is why the shepherd left the ninety nine to go after one, or the woman lit a lamp and looked in every corner of the house until she found it. This is why God does not want to lose even the little ones.

What does this mean in practice? It means that we're special; that all of us and each one of us is special; it means that there is none like you, there is none like me; that God custom made each one of us different; that each one of us is a different story, a unique story. It means that though there may be similarities in our individual stories, we're completely different. It means that each one's story will have a different ending, because it had a different beginning. Your story will end different and uniquely; my story will end differently and uniquely. It is my story; it is your story.

So, mind your story. As important as it is to understand the story of others, our own behavior is the only behavior we can change. When we analyze deeply our own story, we recognize our own faults, and no longer feel the need to stand in judgment of others. Judgment only condemns and separates people. It places one person or group against another, whereas compassion and empathy can bring people together and promote clearer communication.

If God made us DIFFERENT and UNIQUE, why do we look down at other people? Why do we behave like the Jewish religious leaders and the legal experts in today's gospel reading? When they saw men and women of doubtful reputation hanging around Jesus, they were not pleased at all. We need to learn to mind our own business, our own life, our own story.

Quit looking at the behavior of another believer and assessing him or her as unacceptable when God himself has accepted him or her. Instead, look at your own behavior and do the loving thing toward your fellow Christian. Be happy with what the Lord is doing in other people's lives, and pray that more people hang around Jesus!