Big Rocks for Strong Christ-Followers
Today’s Big Rock: The Value of One! Part III

Scripture Foundation: Luke 15:7

“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

In the last couple of devotionals, we have been trying to wrap our minds around the “Value of One!”

For most of us it is beyond our understanding or our ability to live it out on our own.

The good news is that the Apostle Paul gives us an answer to this dilemma in his letter to the Roman Christ-followers:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

We “form” our minds to a value, which then determines what we “think”, and then our “actions” follow.

When we allow Jesus to come into our lives, He transforms our thinking by the renewing of our minds!

If we are going to get our minds to think in terms of how valuable every single person is, we are going to need our minds renewed.

Our world has given us the tendency to think that a wealthy person is special, an athlete is special, and a person of high political position is special. If we are not careful, we can treat these special people much better than others.

Listen to what James has to say about this:

For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? (James 2:2-4)

But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. (James 2:9)

Again, the influences of the world around us creates this tendency in all of us. We need God’s help to break free of this tendency not to see the value of every single ONE.

Join me in asking the “Gardner” of our spiritual growth (see John 15:1) to renew our minds so that we can avoid the sin of favoritism.

Father, help me to prioritize this Big Rock into my life, seeing the value of every single person. In Jesus’s name, amen.