There is a question many of us sometimes ask ourselves. Does Jesus know me personally? Am I a name to Jesus or am I just a number? Perhaps the best place to find the answer to this question is in Chapter 15 of St Luke’s Gospel. There Jesus leaves us in no doubt. He has a personal knowledge of and concern for every individual person, without exception. Jesus knows us by name and calls us by name.
Imagine there are one hundred people and one strays, one wanders away, one gets lost. Our response might be to cut our losses and stay with the ninety nine. After all to lose one out of a hundred is a pretty good record. Not so with Jesus. He does not stay with the ninety nine. He knows the ninety nine are ok. He goes off in search of the one who has strayed. In fact he does not rest until he has found the one who has got lost, until he has brought the one who has wandered back to the ninety nine. Jesus is adamant, “The Son of Man came to seek out and save those who are lost.” This is how he understood his ministry and his mission.
It has been said that if there was only one person living on the earth Jesus would still have come into the world, that he would have lived, died and rose to new life for that one person. Every single individual is important to Jesus. Jesus forgets no one, neglects no one, excludes no one.
Sometimes we can feel lost in the crowd. Surrounded by a lot of people many of whom seem important, we can feel small and insignificant. In the family of Jesus no one is small and insignificant. In the family of Jesus everyone is unique, everyone is important, everyone is special.
There may be times in our lives when our self-esteem is very low and our confidence is shattered. During these times it is natural for us to feel that we do not really matter. The truth is, despite the way we feel, we do matter. We matter to others and we certainly matter to Jesus. Jesus will never give up on us. He has invested too much in us to give up on us. Jesus will always keep faith in us. Indeed during those times when we withdraw into isolation and loneliness he actively pursues us. He comes searching for us. This is why the poet Francis Thompson was able to describe Jesus as the Hound of Heaven.