Perspectives

Luke 15:8-10 … 8)”Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9) And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10) In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

This parable was an answer to the attacks the self-righteous religious leaders of the day made on Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was ministering to society’s outcasts: tax collectors, whom everyone hated. Folks who did not know the legal rubbish of the Pharisaic religion. Those who dressed different, whose hair may not be arranged as their rules stated. Those that I might not be comfortable with…but Jesus loved them. Oh Lord! Give me grace that I might love them as you have loved them.

Jesus freely mingled among just such people. He would be able to walk up and down any main street and touch those who have been cast aside by that community’s finest who mingle with important folk. But Christ did not despise the sinners as others do…he loved them. Because he loved the sinners and was attracted to them, it was natural that they sought him out in turn.

The coin in question in this parable was a sliver drachma worth about a days wage. It would not be difficult to lose a coin in a Palestinian peasant’s house, all we need to do is watch the news about the Middle East and we soon realize that the houses must be very dark, making it very difficult to find a missing coin. This would be especially true in Christ’s time, because I would think they would have only candles and a circular window not much more than about eighteen inches across for light.

Then to make matters worse, the floor was beaten earth covered with dried reeds and rushes; and to look for a coin on a floor like that was very much like looking for a needle in a haystack. The woman swept the floor in the hope that she might see the coin glint or hear it tinkle as it moved.

Whatever the case, it is easy to think of the joy of this woman when at last she saw the glint of the elusive coin and when she held it in her hand again. Jesus said that God was like that. The joy of God, and all the angels, when one sinner repents and comes home, is like the joy of a family when a coin which has stood between them and starvation has been lost and is found; it is like the joy of a mother who loses her precious possession with a value far beyond money, and then finds it again.

No Pharisee had ever dreamed of a God like that. To them this was one absolutely new thing which Jesus taught people about God…that God would actually search for those that are lost.

This was unheard of, there were those among the Pharisees who might agree that if a person comes crawling home to God and prayed for pity they might find it; but they would never have conceived of a God who went out to search for sinners.

When we take a look at this parable, it is an amazing picture of God. We see Him grieving, seeking, finding, and rejoicing. That has been true of God’s thoughts and actions toward anyone who has ever been found, anyone one who has ever given their heart to Christ. This is true for all of us here, for all of us who have humbly admitted that we have sinned and come so very short of Christ’s standards. It will be true also for those still seeking a right relationship with him.

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that Peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name.” Amen.