It's still one

Jack Hayford, a well-known pastor and leader, once told the story of how God deepened his love for people. Walking across a parking lot one day, he noticed a penny on the asphalt. He thought, It's more work to stoop over and pick up that thing than it's worth. About to enter his car, he suddenly felt a whisper from the heart of God: "It's still ONE."
Jack realized God was softening his heart, so he bent down and picked up the forgotten penny. In the following weeks the pennies seemed to appear everywhere - each time an unexpected reminder of the preciousness of each person. He scooped up every penny he found, even those in odd places.
One late night in an airport, Jack walked into a restroom. The place was smelly and unclean, but there in the mess, he found yet another penny. This particular penny was his greatest challenge yet - it stared at him from the bottom of a dirty urinal. Knowing God was teaching him something, Jack grabbed a handful of paper towels, picked up the penny, placed it in the sink, and scrubbed it with all the soap he could find. He carried that rescued penny home, keenly aware that God was stirring an intense passion in his heart for souls.1

I wonder if we have that kind of passion today for those that are lost and undone without God. I wonder if we have a passion for those that may not be as "dignified"? I believe that it took a lot of faith to reach his hand down in an old dirty, smelly, disease infested urinal to rescue a lonely penny. Jesus would do that, TODAY! If Jesus was walking this land today (just as He did some 2 thousand years ago) He would reach out for the homeless, unfortunate, rebellious, prostitute, drug addict, alcoholic, sex addict, rapist, homosexual, habitual lire, deceitful minded, conniver, etc... and love them.

I believe that there are Christian people that feel like the penny in the bottom of the urinal. Feelings of discouragement, disappointment, hurt, loneliness, guilt, etc... Jesus is reaching out to those people also, TODAY! My prayer is that I would not neglect, turn my head from or ignore a person just because they smell, they look rough, or they live a sinful life, because they need salvation too! Have we as a church gotten used to our "shirt and tie" and forgotten about the sinners that we are commissioned to go and spread the gospel too? We need to have the heart that Paul had when he said, "... I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen and according to the flesh" Romans 9: 2,3 (ESV).

1Jack Hayford, The Parable of the Pennies
(Jack Hayford Ministries, 2007).