I heard somewhere that there have been around 108 billion people to have ever lived. It's a lot, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that my life felt pretty small after that. That, and this story, make me think of the saying that one death is a tragedy and 1,000 deaths is a statistic. It's easy to get lost in the numbers -- even COVID seems so big that it's hard to wrap your head around, but then you hear about friends and family and it becomes very real, very fast.
I don't know how God keeps track of us all. Scripture tells us how intimate each and every one of us are to God. I often quote the Augustine idea that Jesus Christ would have died for you, even if you were the only one. The individual matters to God in a way we have a hard time grasping. We get lost in ourselves, lost in the numbers.
It's a challenge to each of us -- how can you reach out to one person today, just one person, and treat them like the most important person in the world? Listen to them, care for them, pay attention to their needs. Put them first. I don't know what it might look like for you -- could be a relative or spouse or a friend. Just try and pay attention to them like they are the unique treasure that they are. Your attention is a gift you can give to another person and in doing so, you honor them, and in honoring them, you honor the God who created them.
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