Story: The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1\u20137)<\/strong><\/p>\n Every person longs to know they matter.<\/p>\n Some search for significance through success.<\/p>\n Others through relationships.<\/p>\n Some spend their entire lives wondering if anyone would even notice if they disappeared.<\/p>\n Jesus told a story that answers those questions forever.<\/p>\n A shepherd owned one hundred sheep.<\/p>\n When one wandered away, he didn't shrug his shoulders and say, "At least I still have ninety-nine."<\/p>\n He went looking.<\/p>\n He searched until he found it.<\/p>\n Then he lifted the sheep onto his shoulders with joy and carried it home.<\/p>\n That story tells us something remarkable about God.<\/p>\n God doesn't simply love humanity.<\/p>\n He loves people.<\/p>\n Individually.<\/p>\n Personally.<\/p>\n Intentionally.<\/p>\n He knows your name.<\/p>\n He knows your story.<\/p>\n He knows your wounds.<\/p>\n He knows every tear you've cried and every fear you've hidden.<\/p>\n The Shepherd notices when even one sheep is missing.<\/p>\n Many people believe God only notices the strong.<\/p>\n The successful.<\/p>\n The spiritual.<\/p>\n Jesus says the opposite.<\/p>\n He notices the one who wandered.<\/p>\n The one everyone else overlooked.<\/p>\n The one who feels forgotten.<\/p>\n The one convinced they don't matter anymore.<\/p>\n This story also reminds believers how we should see people.<\/p>\n Crowds are made up of individuals.<\/p>\n Movements grow one person at a time.<\/p>\n The person everyone else overlooks may become the next disciple-maker God uses to reach an entire community.<\/p>\n No one is insignificant in the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n If God searches for one lost sheep, we should never overlook one lost person.<\/p>\n Carry this story with you.<\/p>\n Someone you meet this week may desperately need to know that they have not been forgotten.<\/p>\n They are worth searching for.<\/p>\n Because they are deeply loved by the Shepherd.<\/p>\n\u12ed\u1205\u1295\u1295 \u1273\u122a\u12ad \u12ed\u12d8\u1205 \u1235\u1275\u1204\u12f5\u2026<\/h3>\n