Luke 15:8-10

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.”

These are extremely challenging verses as with most of what Jesus ministers. Do we see sinners as God sees them? Do we desire for them to be found as much as this woman desired to find her lost silver coin? Does a soul for us have more value than the treasures we so busily secure on Earth? Is searching for sinners indispensable in our daily walk? What do we really think about these important matters?

In this passage, a woman searches for a valuable silver coin she once had in her possession. She stops her normal life activities to find this lost coin. As with the previous lost sheep parable, this story depicts God's concern for finding the lost, those who were once in his possession, those made in his image. These two beautiful parables comfort us, for they reveal how much God loves the lost. Today, we see the woman lighting the lamp, sweeping the house, and searching carefully to find her lost coin in the same way God seeks the lost. He sent his son Jesus, the light of the world, to search for the lost, to call them out of darkness. We see Jesus as God's hands extended. He sweeps the room carefully, searching under the sofa, behind the refrigerator, under the chair for the lost. He does everything, fully expending himself to recover his children. The Bible says Jesus endured the cross to save the lost from their darkness: for the joy set before him endured the cross. (Hebrew 12:2) Through his actions, He finds the lost and restores them to God. He brings great joy to God by rescuing people from the darkness of their souls. As with the woman and her neighbors, God rejoices in the presence of angels over one sinner who repents of his or her wayward ways.

Notice, the sinner repents: repents of their lostness, their waywardness, their sinfulness. Real repentance brings joy to God's heart. We sometimes ask for commitment to the name of Christ without repentance. However, joy comes to God's heart when the sinner says, "I don't want or like my life, I turn to you God, I want your life and your ways. This is when joy comes to God's heart. Sometimes we seek a shallow commitment from people. We ask them to add God to their lives, not replace their former lives. Salvation represents new life, not just a rehabilitated life. Salvation requires repentance, if a born again experience is to take place. This is our message to the world: repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you will receive the gift of eternal life.

As Christians, members of the body of Christ, a primary concern in our lives should be to seek the lost, to bring salvation and hope to them. Therefore, we must always be in the process of lighting the lamp, sweeping the house, and searching carefully for the lost. But for us to be so purposeful, we have to view the lost as a treasure. Finding the lost must be a vital part of our lives. If the unsaved are incidental in our lives, we will not arrange our activities to bring salvation to them. The coin passage challenges me and probably all of us, for in the parable, we see how much God rejoices in finding the lost, how much He loves them. Do we rejoice as heartily, as joyfully, when a sinner comes to God? If not, we probably need to move a lot closer to God's heart. As we take up the cross and follow him, we will rejoice to see his plans fulfilled in our lives.