Lost and found – it still really matters!
If I could define the essence of the Gospel message from God’s perspective, it most certainly would have to include Jesus’ teaching in Luke 15. Three stories speak about the joy that comes when a precious, lost thing is found. That “finding joy” is a centerpiece of the Gospel message of the Bible. There is no joy when things are lost. However, the Bible talks about God as one who actively seeks to find rebellious, sinful, lost ones like you and me. God the Father sent His Son Jesus so that sinners like you and me could be saved. As Jesus says, “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (v. 10; see also 15:7, 32).
In the lesson for today, Jesus tells a story about a woman who loses one of her silver coins. When Jesus speaks this parable, silver coins were precious. To lose any would be a disaster. These parables are hard for us to really grasp because we live in a time and in a country where we have so much. So try to think of a time when that one coin mattered, when you didn’t have enough for what you needed. Think of that time, and then try to imagine losing what you already had. It’s important to realize that each one of these coins was precious to her, each one mattered. She could not afford for any of them to be lost. So she turns the house upside down looking for the lost one.
That’s merely a picture of what God was and is willing to do so that you might be found, and receive His forgiveness and love. He turned the world upside down when He sent His Son to live your life under the Law, to die your eternal death on the cross, and to give you Christ’s blood-bought eternal life as a gift. That’s not what any other “gods” do for people, let alone sinful, rebellious people. But that’s just what Jesus, the Son of God, did. The most shocking message in all of the world is that the One with eternal power and authority over all things would be so willing to be a servant, to even suffer and to die, for those who deserved it least.
These parables ramp up the value of the “lost and found” perspective. First, there’s a lost sheep and the shepherd goes looking. Then there’s a lost coin, and the woman turns the house inside out to find it. Finally, there are lost sons, and a father who rejoices when the prodigal one returns home. The point? It’s a lost world, but one that God engages in order to save. Lost, then found, which leads to joy! That tells you about the God who created and redeemed you. That’s an eternal perspective too. It’s one that can comfort us amidst the challenges of the day; it’s a picture of God’s very own heart for you right now, one that He never wants you to forget.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, give me a real sense of how I was lost and vulnerable, so that I might appreciate even more being found by You that I might live in and with You forever. AMEN.
