#346.4 – “God Math, Lesson Four: 1 > 99???”

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” - Luke 15:4-7
I said earlier this week that one of the great things about math is that there is a ‘standard’ on which you can count (no pun intended), i.e. 2+2=4. The same kind of standard is true of the character of God and nature of God; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But in ‘God math’, there is one time when 1 is actually greater than 99, and that time is aptly described in the verses above, so you don’t need me to elaborate on it for you. Allow me, then, just to appreciate this mathematical ‘puzzle’. As one who is soooo glad that He deemed me – an individual who was bound for hell because of my sin – worthy of His time and attention that He saved me from the lost state I was in (note: not heading towards, but already there) and brought me back to where I belonged and where He intended all along, I concur that this kind of math doesn’t ‘make sense’, but it is nonetheless true.
God loves the ‘ones’ of this world. You and I are proof of that. And we should love the ‘ones’ also.

Daniel