8 “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ 10 I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:8-10
“It’s not here either!” my husband moaned.
“Well, WHERE is the last place you had it?” I asked.
He looked at me and replied, “If I knew that, it wouldn’t be lost!”
Are you chuckling and nodding your head right now? If so, you too are familiar with this conversation in your family when someone has lost something. Jesus also knew that this was a familiar scene in households to which people could relate. That is surely one of the reasons He used the analogy in the parable of the woman with the lost coin in Luke 15:8-10. Such a simple story in the Bible… only three short verses. But what a PUNCH it has!
Luke, Matthew and Mark tell many of the same stories of the life of Jesus, yet we learn different details from each author. Have you ever read the same book or watched the same movie as a friend, and in discussing it later, you recall different details? Or interpreted it slightly differently? I know I have. Luke’s writings appear to be more sensitive. He makes sure the reader is given the entire story of Jesus from birth to ascension. He takes his duty as disciple very seriously, wanting to share Jesus’ teachings with the hope that others will follow Jesus and spread the Good Word.
In these particular verses, Jesus is emphasizing that when things get lost… important things…they are searched for until they are found. For years, as I read this parable, I would feel bad for the lady, thinking she was destitute and needed that money desperately for food, bills and such. That is not stated in those short verses—I had simple inferred it. However, when studying the history of the passage more in depth, I found another possible version of the story.
Married women wore a headdress with ten coins sewn inside to show their commitment, much like I wear my wedding ring. If it were one of those coins she had lost, it was as if she lost her wedding ring! What woman wouldn’t become frenzied if she realized her wedding ring was missing? I too would “search carefully” until I found it. I would turn every light in my house on and turn everything upside down. And knowing me, I would also call my best friends, asking them to pray that I find it. So, of course, upon finding it, I too would call my friends and neighbors to rejoice with me.
Jesus used a common occurrence in our lives to have us nodding our heads as He told the story. He wanted to relay how He feels when He finds that one soul who is lost, who needs to understand how and why to follow Him. When even ONE soul finds the narrow path and commits his life to Jesus, it is worth rejoicing! And how do people hear of Jesus and the way? By us sharing stories to which others can relate and then by walking that path together with them.
The conversation at the beginning of this devotional actually occurred between my husband and myself. What was the thing that was lost and for which we were searching desperately? HIS WEDDING RING! Ironically, it was found in a jar of loose coins! REJOICE!
Questions to Ask Yourself
- Are you searching for the lost soul?
- Can you share life with others and help them find what is lost?
- Have you recently rejoiced with others on the path to heaven?
Missions Prayer
Pray today for the leadership and missionaries of the International Mission Board. Baptists established this missionary sending agency 175 years ago, and we continue to work together to send missionaries through IMB today. 18 of our church family’s global worker units serve through the IMB.