Can You Love Just One?
When the needs around us feel overwhelming, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom often moves forward one person at a time.
I remember walking down a street in the Middle Eastern city we had just moved to. Everything felt new—unfamiliar. Then I heard it—the call to prayer echoing from the minaret. The sound filled the air, stretching across the city and reaching into every street and corner. As I stood there listening, I felt completely overwhelmed. So many people. So many who do not yet know Jesus.
My heart began to race.
“God… how? How can we ever reach all of these people?” It felt too big. Too heavy. Too impossible. And in that moment, I sensed God whisper something to my heart: “Can you love just one?”
When the Mission Feels Too Big
Sometimes the need around us feels overwhelming. We see the crowds. We notice the differences. We feel what seems like an impossible gap. Without even realizing it, we begin carrying a weight we were never meant to carry. Questions start rising in our hearts:
· Where do I even begin?
· What difference could I possibly make?
· Is what I have enough?
But Jesus never asked us to reach everyone all at once. Instead, He invites us into something much more personal—something much more possible.
One by One
When we look at the life of Jesus, a pattern begins to appear. Yes, He spoke to crowds, but often He stopped for the one:
· The woman at the well
· The man born blind
· Zacchaeus in the tree
· The woman who reached for His garment
In the middle of the multitude, Jesus saw individuals and He loved them—one by one.
The Question That Changed Everything
When I heard that gentle question—“Can you love just one?”—something shifted inside me.
The panic faded. The weight lifted. Suddenly, it wasn’t about reaching the masses. It was about being faithful with the one person God placed in front of me. Just one.
“Yes, God,” I remember responding in my heart, “I can do that.”
From that moment on, everything changed.
Learning to Look for the One
As our family moved from place to place over the next thirty years of ministry, I carried that truth with me. I stopped trying to see the crowd. Instead, I began looking for the one—the person God had placed right in front of me. The one God placed in my path. The one He was already drawing. The one He invited me to love. And I simply loved them—with His love.
Sometimes that love looked like sharing a meal.
Sometimes it meant listening to a story.
Sometimes it meant walking through hardship together.
Often, it was quiet, ordinary, and unseen, but it mattered because every “one” matters to God.
God Is Already Working in Their Story
Acts 17:26–27 reminds us that God has determined the exact times and places where people should live so that they might reach out and find Him. That means the people around you are not there by accident. God is already at work in the life of your neighbor, the people you see each week, or the person you keep noticing again and again. He may be inviting you to be part of their story—not by doing everything, but by loving one.
You Don’t Have to Do It All
There is real freedom in this truth.
You don’t have to carry the weight of the world.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
You don’t have to know how everything will unfold.
You simply need to be willing…to notice…to care…to take a step…to love just one person!
Perhaps the invitation is simpler than we imagine: Not to reach everyone—but to love the one God places before us.
· It might be a neighbor.
· A coworker.
· Someone you keep crossing paths with
Who is the one God may be placing in your life today?
A Simple Prayer
Jesus,
Sometimes the need feels overwhelming. We see so many people who don’t yet know You, and we don’t know where to begin. Thank You for reminding us that we don’t have to reach everyone—just the one You place in front of us. Open our eyes to see them. Give us courage to step toward them. Fill our hearts with Your love for them. Help us to be faithful in the small things, trusting You with the greater story. Use our simple acts of love to reveal Your heart.
Amen.