Author Margaret Atwood said, “A word plus a word plus a word is power.” Seldom has that been demonstrated more prominently than with last year’s surge of the rallying call “Black Lives Matter.” Those three words wield tremendous power and elicit strong reactions.

“All Lives Matter” is a common response to that phrase, as if to say, “Yes black lives matter very much, but it’s risky to focus on justice and concern for one group of people and not for all.”

Every January we mark the somber anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that made abortions legal in the U.S. Some of us protest that catastrophic decision at rallies, holding up signs like “Save the Baby Humans” or “Unborn Lives Matter.” A common response to such protests is, “You talk about these lives but you don’t care about the mothers of these children, or about the poor who are also suffering.” Such criticisms, often wielded by people who don’t really know you, are frustrating. Does focusing on one group of humans who are unjustly denied life imply a lack of concern for other humans? Of course not.

Those of us who say “Unborn Lives Matter,” then, ought to have understanding of those who call out “Black Lives Matter.” Neither rallying cry detracts from the fact that all lives matter. They call attention to particular categories of injustice.

Jesus, while the target of criticism for focusing on tax collectors and sinners rather than devout persons, told the story of the 100 sheep. The shepherd left 99 sheep who were safe under his care to find one lost sheep that was in peril. While not giving up the 99, he focused his special attention and care on one. One sheep matters to God. One lost soul matters. It’s consistent for one soul to matter and for all souls to matter at the same time.

By extension, it’s legitimate to focus on justice and love—and the gospel—for black lives without always bringing up other lives. It’s legitimate to focus on unborn lives in peril without having to always mention other lives in peril. It’s legitimate for a missionary to go to one location while still believing the gospel must go to all places.

The message of Jesus and His parable extends beyond that. One problem with our rallying cries is that they can grow to be instruments of power that sweep up the evil with the good. There is “Black Lives Matter” the cry for justice and love, and there is Black Lives Matter the controversial organization whose founders are far more radical than the large majority of people who use the phrase—and who have come under criticism by the largest chapters of their own organization as well as by black churches. Unborn Lives Matter, if only used as an occasional protest sign, is woefully deficient in helping unborn lives or born lives.

Jesus didn’t focus on getting the placard right, or on distributing the right sound bites to the media. He focused on sacrificing His life for the people He loves. While words are important, we ultimately show that lives matter by where we devote our time and make our sacrifices.