The parable of the lost coin – 21st August 2016

“And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin”(Luke 15:9

The parable of the lost coin is another parable that indicates God’s true attitude towards sinners. The tax collectors and some others were gathered around to hear Jesus speak. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law observed this and spoke negatively among themselves: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Knowing this Jesus told them some parable: The first one being the parable of the lost sheep and imidiatly followed up with the parable of the lost coin that we can learn from Luke 15:8-10, "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? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" .

In this parable, the sinner is likened to a valuable coin which has been lost. The woman does not take a lax attitude towards her lost possession. She lights a lamp, so that she can see clearly. Next, instead of simply glancing here and there, she uses a broom or some utensil to sweep her house so that she can reach places that might otherwise be inaccessible to her. Above all, she searches carefully for the coin that she lost. Although she has 9 more coins in her position, she did not search for it with a hint of indifference, but searched for it with diligence. This coin was valuable; and therefore she must find it at all costs.

A very simple story, but through that Jesus wanted the religious leaders to understand how he felt about those who were lost. What do we mean when we say “lost”. It is us distancing ourselves away from Gods presence. God desire is for us to be with Him always…24 -7! When we sin we start to drift away, in increasing measure… unless we seek Gods assistance to revert back to His presence rather than an eternity of suffering. When we are lost as sinners, we are lost for eternity!. God created us because he longed for us to be in His presence…NOT some ware or away from Him. Due to His love for us, In order to bring the lost back He took the ultimate action; He offered up His Son as a sacrificial lamb. This He did to cleanse the sinner from sin and restore us back to Himself. He would go through any means, any expense to bring us back to Him.

The parable of the lost coin indicates the mission of the Son. Jesus came to be the Light of the World; “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9). Jesus provides the light for sinners to be found of God, just as the woman needed light to search carefully for her lost coin. She had ten coins and she did not think: “Oh I have 9 more coins and so what if one is lost…? With Jesus Christ it does not work that way! Each sinner is special to God; Because when one sinner is found and brought back to Him, there is rejoicing in heaven over “each one” that repents. “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent”(Luke 15:7).

We are all individuals of great importance to the Father who created us. The woman could have been content to possess the remaining nine coins; obviously they represented great wealth and status to her. Instead, she searched carefully, unwilling for someone else to find her valued coin… which will be claimed by that person…referred here as the evil one. And finally when she found it was not sufficient for her to simply be happy to have found it but also called friends and neighbors to come and rejoice

with her. “And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:9).

The parable of the lost coin gives us a glimpse of that in which the Lord delights. In this parable, once the woman has found her lost coin, she calls her friends and neighbors in order to share the good news. Similarly when a sinner is restored to fellowship with God, it is a cause for rejoicing in the realms of heaven. This is God’s plan of salvation and the reason why Christ came. This is the splendid, marvelous, most glorious act in the history of the world. God seeks sinners and rejoices when they are found and restored back to Him. God is not content for any sinner to be lost or taken away from Him. We need to know that He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to be in His presence for eternity… Therefore as Christians we need to understand that: ”The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).