Jump Start # 288

Luke 15:8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”

  Our passage today is taken from the famous Luke 15 chapter—the chapter about lost things being found. Jesus tells three parables in a row that describe things being lost—sheep, coin, prodigal son. These were illustrations and answers to the charge that the Pharisees had made at the beginning of the chapter. They accused Jesus of receiving and eating with sinners. In their way of thinking, if Jesus was the Messiah, he’d know better and distance himself for “those kind of people.” Just the opposite was true. Jesus was the Messiah and it was for “those kind of people” that he came to save.

  Of the three parables, lost sheep, lost coin and lost boys, the middle one, the lost coin, is the shortest. This is where our thoughts are today.

  A woman had ten silver coins. Luke tells us that they were silver. They were not the value of our common penny. One penny today doesn’t get you very far. No, these were special. They were silver, possibly an inheritance or something saved up for a wedding. They were of great value. To lose one was to lose much value.

  She lost one. Horror fills the day. She knows she didn’t spend it. The other nine are accounted for, so it must be in the house. She looks and looks and looks until she finds it. She doesn’t give up easy. The passage says that she lights a lamp and sweeps the floor. She is diligent.

  What’s the point? This illustrates the saving work of Jesus Christ. The sinners that Jesus was accused of eating with are the lost coins. They are of value, great value. God is not going to give up looking for them. He wants them found.

  The parable ends with the angels in Heaven rejoicing over the penitent sinner.

  Many lessons here to think about.

  First, each coin was wanted, needed and of value. Each coin was silver. She didn’t have nine silver and one copper. They were all the same, and they were all valuable. And that’s how we are in the eyes of God. All of us. Each of us. Mom, dad and the kids down the street—that’s easy to see. What about the group of teens that have dropped out of school and hang around the street corner? Copper or silver? Silver. What about the old lady in the nursing home who doesn’t know her name, nor anyone else. Her day is spent sitting in a wheel chair staring off in space. Copper or silver? Silver. We tend to value people based upon productivity, or goodness. God values us because we are created in His image and He loves us.

  Second, we are not told why the coin was lost. Doesn’t really matter, it’s gone and she doesn’t know where it is. Every lose your car keys? Boy, I have. When are they noticed missing? Usually, when I’m walking out the door and in a hurry. They are not where I thought they were. Everything stops. A search begins. You look in the usual places and the unusual places. You search pant pockets and coat pockets and tops of dressers and get on your knees and look underneath things and in the cracks of couches and chairs. You search and search and that becomes your top priority. Why? Because you need them. You can’t get where you want to be without them. Now you understand what this woman went through. Now, you begin to understand how God feels about us when we are lost. He doesn’t cut His loses and just go for the majority—each one of us is important.

  Thirdly, the coin was somewhere, just not where the woman thought it was. It didn’t vanish and it didn’t disappear. She eventually found it. All of us are somewhere, but we may not be where we ought to be. We need to be with God. We need to be under His love and care. We need to follow His will. And when we are not, we are lost. In the great song, Amazing Grace, there is a line, “I once was lost, but now am found…” With the wonderful world of GPS, many of us never are lost. We don’t know what it is to be lost. The coin was lost. The sheep was lost. And the prodigal was lost. Without Christ in our lives we are lost.

  Fourthly, God wants to find you and save you. You belong with the other nine coins. Your place is not on the floor under a dresser. That’s not where you are supposed to be. For some, that is their life. God is looking for you. He is sweeping the house to find you? How? First, He sent Jesus. Then He sent His word. Today, His people, are looking for you by teaching His word. Jesus said in John 6 that God would draw people to Him. This is done through the teaching of His word. It is through His word that we come to know God, love God and can obey God. Our faith is based upon His word. His word goes forth trying to reach you.

  Maybe someone sent you this Jump Start. It may have come from a friend or co-worker. We see it simply as some simple thoughts about a verse. Could it be one of God’s brooms, trying to find you and sweep you back to where you belong? God can use people and events and Jump Starts and CD’s to reach us and find us and bring us home. 

  One thing about parables—they have limits. They are not complete illustrations. In some ways we are that lost silver coin. But unlike that lost coin, we have a conscience, a heart and a will. We can move on our own, a coin can’t. We can repent and return, a coin can’t. A coin can’t express thankfulness when it is found, we can. A coin can’t show love, but we can.

  This parable is short but incredible. The very thought that today, God is looking for you. God is sweeping the Heavens and has His light on, so He can find you. He sure loves you. Won’t you come home? And if you have been found, won’t you stay put where God wants you. God is so good!

Roger