Charity Autry, Always Missing Something

Scripture: Luke 15: 8-10

8Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 

Reflection: 

Don’t you love a good trilogy!? Some of my favorites are Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Toy Story, Jurassic Park, and finally, Star Wars. The parable of the missing coin is second in a popular biblical trilogy. Trilogies are always good (except for the Star Wars prequel trilogy – in my opinion, they were terrible). The missing coin parable is the peanut butter and jelly of the “missing” parables. It is sandwiched between the parable of The Lost Sheep and The Good Son—not as well known as her counterparts, but important in her own right. 

To us a coin is useless. During VBS, our worship leader asked the kids if they lost a dollar out of a hundred would they look for it? The answer was a resounding NO! Except for the one kid that knew the parable, A+ to him. To us, one coin is not worth finding, however, to the widow in the story, the coin was very important. It would have been 1/10th of her life savings. She would have searched high and low. Jesus was trying to explain that to God, we are just as important. We are worthy before we even know it. This parable tells us God will continue to seek and search us until we are found. The good news is, we are worthy!

But sometimes we don’t even know we are lost. We are moving along blissfully in life, thinking we have it all together, but we are spiritually lost. Other times we know we don’t have it together, and we feel alone, lost. Friends, we are never alone. God is at work in your life during these times, even when everything feels hopeless. God is there searching for us to rejoice with him. We are worthy. 

Spoiler Alert!! Not only are we worthy of being found, but our enemies are also worthy. This includes people in an opposite political party than yourself. Even if we deem their sins unforgivable, they are still important to God, and he is seeking them.  It is not our place to tear down or ignore those we think to be sinners. Walking and talking like Jesus means seeking out those that may be lost. Remember, God does not seek to destroy but seeks to love. We should follow his lead. Everyone is worthy.   

If you or someone you love is stuck in a rut, buried in work, or just plain lost, know that God is seeking all of us. Take a step toward God. We are worthy, and when we are found, God will rejoice with us!  

Side note, I really hope they make a third Finding Nemo, “Finding Crush”? Until then, “Keep on swimming” dudes!

Prayer:

Like the coin in this parable, sometimes I am lost, thank you God for continuing to seek me. Thank you for Jesus’ parables that teach me that no matter what, I am worthy. I pray that everyone knows your love and shares it with others. Amen.