Even Just One

Tonight I had the privilege of attending a Young Life banquet. I knew pretty well what to expect going in, and was looking forward to seeing many of my friends. But one particular moment caught me off guard, and still, hours later, has my attention.

The general purpose of the banquet is to provide a little entertainment, offer a gospel message or two, and inform supporters of the ministry what’s been going on for the past year, and what to expect in the year to come. Several awesome videos were put together, and I’ll admit I almost cried in two of them. But the particular moment to which I was referring was when a young high school senior boy stood in front of the 400 or so adults in attendance and shared about the impact of Young Life in his life.

He began his story by saying that his father essentially walked on his family when he was only ten or twelve. He could have spent more time on that, but he instead focused on the positive: through the hardships, he and his brother and mother grew much, much closer. But it wasn’t long before his brother grew up and left the house, and the older role model that this young man so desperately needed was gone. It was at that time that he said Young Life came along and gave him a new perspective. His friend who invited him, and the Young Life leader who stood on stage behind him (a friend of mine) introduced him to the Jesus he never knew—the real Jesus. The Jesus who wasn’t just some man who lived and died a long time ago. The Jesus who was God in the flesh. The Jesus who died on a cross to bear our sins. The Jesus who still lives today. The Jesus who wants a relationship with each of us. And that Jesus was new to him. And when he met Him, he couldn’t avoid him anymore. He gave his life to Jesus, and credited Young Life with the introduction.

And as he stood up there telling everyone his story, it hit me. I looked around at all the people in the room who had contributed. Almost every single person there had given their time, their money, or both to support the mission of Young Life. That’s why they were all in this room together. And this high school senior was telling them all what their efforts had meant in his life. It was so beautiful. And at that moment all I could think was that even if this kid was the only kid who ever came to know Jesus through those efforts, it would have been worth it. There would be no regrets. And that’s how Jesus feels. Even if that boy had been the only person in the world saved by His death on the cross, He would have done it all the same. And that’s true for each and every one of us.

So remember, if you do anything to support a ministry, or just to reach out to any person you may know in order to bring them the gospel, take heart. God moves in those efforts. But even more importantly, He loves each of us enough to die on a cross—even if we were the only one He’d saved.