THE ONLY NUMBER THAT MATTERS!

THE ONLY NUMBER THAT MATTERS!

Matt 14:20-21

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

1 Cor 15:3-6

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

Acts 1:15

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Acts 2:41

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

      Well, Easter is over and many ministers are tallying up their numbers. Easter brings the crowds which are often lacking on other, normal, days. We are always glad to see them. Problems come, however, when we think that the numbers themselves indicate either success or failure.

      At the height of His ministry Jesus attracted a crowd of over five thousand people. More significant than the numbers is that he fed them with a little boy’s lunch. There was no mention of the problems of parking and other issues. However there was one time when everyone seemed to be walking away and Jesus said to his most faithful: “Will ye also go away?” I’m sure that was a painful time.

John 6:66-67

66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

      When we use numbers to evaluate the success of motives and methods we are not wise. Rainmakers and circus clowns may very well draw a crowd but their methods will not sustain spiritual ministry during times of human suffering. Personal, one-on-one, encounters with Jesus are most memorable. Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria who was wounded in spirit. He also encountered a woman with an issue of blood who touched his garment and who can forget the conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter three? These numbers would hardly make a blip on the success-o-meter but each was hugely significant. The number that really matters is the number ONE.

Rom 14:12

12 So then every ONE of us shall give account of himself to God.

Father, today make me keenly aware of the needs of the individual soul. AMEN