2024-03-02A
Please read Luk. 15:8-10
This story which the Lord told probably deeply touched the hearts of the women who stood listening.
A. THE MONETARY VALUE OF THE COIN.
This woman was not penniless, as many of us may sometimes be. She had ten silver coins. People who make an in-depth study of the way of life in Jesus’ time, say that each coin was worth about one day’s earnings.
A day’s wages are certainly not to be scorned. If you toiled all day in the hot sun or worked in someone else’s house making the beds, washing the dishes, ironing the clothes and perhaps still having to clean the windows, you would feel it in your body. The money you put in your pocket that afternoon, would be worth a lot to you. If you lost it on your way home or got robbed, tears may flow. All your thoughts would be on this great loss you suffered. The fact that you still had nine other days’ wages left in the container under your bed, would not console your heart. For most of us, each day’s income has a special place it must fill. So this woman grieved for the great loss she had suffered.
B. THE SENTIMENTAL VALUE OF THE COIN.
There could also have been another reason why the coin was so precious to her. Jewish women usually received ten pieces of silver as a wedding gift. Some coins had a hole at the centre. The bride would thread all ten together to safeguard them. This string of coins was then like a wedding ring to her. It had great sentimental value. If the string broke and one coin was lost, it was as if the marriage itself had been broken. A lady who valued her marriage, would leave no stone unturned to find it. Such a coin was unique and could not be replaced with another similar one.
C. ONLY ONE SOLUTION: SEARCH UNTILL YOU FIND IT.
For one of these two reasons, the woman in Jesus’ story left all her work unfinished, lighted a lamp, got the broom and began sweeping the room carefully from corner to side. Suddenly she saw something glinting, dropped the broom, knelt down, recognized the lost coin and hastily picked it up. Then she ran outside, waved it above her head, shouting to her alarmed neighbors: “I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve found it”. With tears of joy running down her cheeks she would haltingly tell them about the coin she had lost but had found again. Surely many toothless old mouths would have shouted with glee. Young and old would have clapped their hands, hugged her and excitedly shared in her joy.
D. JESUS’ COINS: SOME ALREADY FOUND, BUT MANY STILL LOST.
Like the silver coin on which the image of the emperor appeared, each person’s life is also intrinsically made of precious heavenly silver upon which God’s image is imprinted. Each one is of inestimable value to the Lord. One cannot be replaced by another. He is currently collecting His lost silver coins. Even though some have already been found, He lights the lamp of His Word and uses many of His servants to look for the remaining ones.
E. THERE IS JOY IN HEAVEN WHEN ANOTHER COIN IS FOUND.
When He finds the lost sinner and he is led through the narrow gate, the angels and saints in heaven exclaim: “Here, at last, is God’s silver coin. It has been lying in the darkness for years on end. It was gathering dust and dirt. Hallelujah, now it has been found!”
F. TAKE HEART, HE IS STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR LOVED ONES, DAY BY DAY.
Could your son or daughter be one of God’s lost coins? Take heart He has not given up looking for him or her. Like an owner who regularly counts the coins in his wallet, He knows exactly who has yet to come in. He searches every corner of this world with His Gospel until he or she too, is safely knotted into His cord of mercy.
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