“One” – Not Such a Lonely Number

Yes, my title is a “shout out” to any Three Dog Night fans who read my blog. But, trust me.  I have a point to make.

A portion of the classic song “One” says, “It’s just no good anymore since you went away Now I spend my time just making rhymes of yesterday.” Obviously, the artist is lamenting a lost love and the feeling of loneliness that comes over us when a relationship has been broken.

But “one” isn’t necessarily a lonely word. Perhaps you have heard of “one in a million”, which suggests supremacy or “one of many” which makes an association between one person and others who are alike.

When it comes to our prayer for “one”, what matters most is that the person we are praying for matters to God. In Jesus’ famous Parable of the Lost Sheep, a shepherd left ninety-nine sheep at home to search for one sheep who was lost. Thankfully, the sheep was found and the shepherd was able to bring him home. He couldn’t wait to tell his neighbors and invite them to celebrate with him.

After Jesus told this parable He said, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7) This is the “one” who matters to God: the “one sinner” who repents.

There is a sense in which “one sinner” is alone. Like a crafty predator, Satan looks for ways to separate us from God’s love.  He lures us into sin and promises us the world, but we soon find ourselves in a dark wilderness, torn and tattered and crying out for someone to help us.

Don’t expect Satan to answer our cries, unless he sees an opportunity to further exploit our pain for his purposes. We don’t matter to him.

Therefore, the loneliest feeling might be when we have been deserted by Satan who promised us everything, even though the God who loves us more than anything is holding us in the hollow of His hand.

If you are the lonely “one”, take heart. Yes, feelings of loneliness are real, but the notion of loneliness is a sham.  God is always with us, and no matter how far we have wondered He loves us.  I know these words can seem empty when it appears all heaven and earth has turned its back on us.  But remember, this is a part of the deception.  From the very beginning, Satan’s biggest ploy has been to try to convince us God doesn’t care about us.

Don’t believe him for a minute.

Don’t believe him for a second.

You are God’s “one”. We are all God’s “ones”.  And the “ones” Jesus said His Father and the angels rejoice over are sinners who repent.

In the same way, we all have “one” in our lives who is “one of many”. We may not have the ability to reach out to everyone in the name of Jesus, but we can walk alongside the “one” God shows us.

You are God’s “one” called to “Pray for One”.

“One” really isn’t a lonely number when we let God do the math.