WHATEVER IT TAKES
Some years ago, Christina and I were in Target with our son Levi, who was about two years old. If you’ve ever parented a toddler, you know the type: curious, fast, and built like a tiny escape artist. Christina went to the restroom. “I’ve got him,” I said, full of dad-confidence. And for about sixty seconds, I thought I meant it.
Then I turned around—and he was gone.
I checked one aisle. Then another. Nothing. And that calm, “I’m-sure-he’s-right-here” confidence evaporated. Panic came rushing in. My heart felt like it was trying to sprint out of my chest. My mind went to every worst-case scenario in a single breath.
Then, about a hundred feet away, I saw a woman running through the crowd. Behind her, a little boy darted out. “Did someone lose a child?” she called.
The panic washed straight out of my body. “Yes—he’s mine!” I shouted. I scooped Levi into my arms and squeezed him like I hadn’t seen him in years.
And you know what I didn’t do? I didn’t lecture him about wandering. I didn’t scold him for running or tell him all the dangers he’d narrowly escaped. I just held him. Loved him. Took him back because, well… he was mine. And I was so grateful he was back with me.
That’s what God is like.
We run. He searches. And when He finds us, He doesn’t cross His arms or shake His head. He picks us up and holds us close. Why? Because we belong to Him.
THE STORY THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
There’s a famous story in the New Testament where Jesus tries to rewrite people’s understanding of God’s heart for humanity.
“Tax collectors and notorious sinners kept coming to listen to Jesus teach. This made the religious leaders furious. They complained that He was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them. In response, Jesus told them this story: ‘If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!’” (Luke 15:1-7)
Leave the ninety-nine to find the one? Risk it all for a single sheep? What was Jesus saying?
In each story Jesus tells—the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son—the rhythm is the same: something is lost, someone searches, everyone celebrates.
These stories show us something crucial about God: every person is immeasurably valuable to Him. Worth pursuing. Worth rescuing. Worth rejoicing over. We may overlook the value of one lost person in a world of eight billion. But Jesus never does.
Think about it: if you owned a hundred sheep and one wandered off, the financially sensible decision would be to cut your losses. You still have ninety-nine. The math works. The risk-to-reward ratio says, “Stay put.”
But God doesn’t use our math. To Him, the one matters just as much as the ninety-nine. The one is worth leaving everything for. The one is worth the search, the sacrifice, the celebration. The one is worth whatever it takes.
FIND YOUR ONE
I don’t have the capacity to value eight billion people the way God does. Neither do you. But we can value a few like God does. We can certainly value one.
So, let me ask you: Who is your one? Who has God placed in your life? Whose name keeps resurfacing in your prayers? Whose face flashes across your mind? Who do you ache to see come home to Jesus?
I want to encourage you to pray about and then pick your one—and commit to doing whatever it takes to help them find their way to Him.
As God’s children, we’re invited to reflect His heart. And that includes searching for and loving His lost kids home. We do whatever it takes because Jesus did whatever it takes.
WHAT JESUS DID
I use the phrase “whatever it takes” because that’s exactly what Jesus did for us:
He left heaven for earth
He traded perfection for suffering
He gave His life on a cross—for you and me
God left everything—His glory, His comfort, all the joy of heaven—to come looking for us. He didn’t send a stand-in. He didn’t calculate the cost. He just came. That’s God’s heart for lost people. That’s how much He values the one.
And if we want to be like Him, if we want our hearts to beat like His, then we learn to value people the same way.
WHY IS THIS SO HARD
Let’s be honest about why most of us struggle with this.
First, it’s inconvenient. Reaching people takes time, energy, and emotional investment. It’s easier to stay in our Christian bubble with people who already believe what we believe.
Second, it’s uncomfortable. Spending time with people who don’t share our values, who live differently than we do, who might ask hard questions—it pushes us out of our comfort zone.
Third, it’s inefficient. We can’t scale “whatever it takes.” It requires us to slow down and invest in individuals.
But here’s what I keep coming back to: Jesus didn’t come to be efficient. He came to search for the lost.
He spent time with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. He went to their homes, ate their food, listened to their stories, and loved them before they cleaned up their lives. And He calls us to do the same.
THE POSTURE OF THE SEARCH
In Jesus’ story, the shepherd doesn’t stand at the edge of the wilderness and call out for the lost sheep to find its way back. He goes out searching. He leaves the safety of the ninety-nine and enters the danger of the wilderness.
He takes the initiative.
This is radically different from how many of us think about reaching people. We assume that if people want Jesus, they’ll come to church. They’ll reach out. They’ll make the first move. But that’s not how God works. He doesn’t wait for us to find our way back. He comes looking. Pursues. Searches.
And when He finds us, He doesn’t make us walk back on our own. He picks us up and carries us home on His shoulders. There’s joy in that image. Not frustration or disappointment or a lecture about why we wandered off in the first place. Just joy. Relief. Celebration.
That’s the posture we’re called to have toward our one. Not judgment or superiority. There’s just joy at the possibility of bringing them home.
MAKING IT PERSONAL
So, who is your one?
Maybe it’s a coworker who sits near you every day. Or a neighbor whose name you know but whose story you’ve never asked about. Or a family member you’ve given up on. Or someone at the gym, at your kid’s school, in your friend group. You don’t need to go find a stranger to evangelize. You just need to notice the people God has already placed in your path.
Write their name down. Say it out loud. Picture their face. That’s your one. That’s your whatever it takes.
WHAT “WHATEVER IT TAKES” ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
Whatever It Takes means praying for your one daily. Asking God to soften their heart and to give you wisdom and opportunities.
It means doing something for them. Showing up. Serving them. Being a genuine friend without an agenda.
And listening to their story. Really listening. Not waiting for your turn to talk about Jesus but genuinely caring about their life.
And inviting them in. To your home. To your life. To see what following Jesus actually looks like in real time.
And being patient. Some people take years to come around. The seed you plant today might not sprout until long after you’ve stopped watching for it.
And being willing to look foolish. To have awkward conversations. To be rejected. To keep trying even when it feels like nothing is happening.
“Whatever it takes” usually looks less like a grand gesture and more like faithful, consistent love over time.
WHY YOUR ONE MATTERS
Here’s what keeps me going when reaching people feels hard: Heaven is paying attention.
Jesus said, “There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away” (Luke 15:7).
Think about that. More joy over one than over ninety-nine.
When your one finds Jesus, angels celebrate. Heaven throws a party. God Himself rejoices. Your one isn’t just important to you. They’re important to God. They’re worth whatever it takes because that’s how God sees them. And one day, when you stand before Jesus, He won’t ask you how much money you made or how big your ministry was. He’ll ask you about the ones He put in your path.
Did you see them? Did you love them? Did you do whatever it took to help them find their way home?
TAKE ACTION
Write down the name of a person God’s put in your life who is far from Him and commit to doing whatever it takes to help them find Jesus.
Pray for them every day this week—by name. Ask God to move in their heart and to give you opportunities to show them His love.
Then invite them to coffee. Or help them with something. Show up in a way that demonstrates you genuinely care about them, not just about getting them to believe what you believe.
Remember: We run. He searches. And when He finds us, He picks us up and carries us home. Your one is out there running. And it’s time to lead them home.
All for Jesus,
Brad D. Jenkins
P.S. — If this has been helpful, please send me a message at brad@bradjenkins.me and let me know. My writing aims to help people enjoy a vibrant relationship with Jesus, and it is an honor to be on this journey with you. To read previous newsletters or to sign up so that you don’t miss future posts, visit www.bradjenkins.me/blog.