Wednesday's Woman of the Word - Lost and Found

About a month ago, two of my children and I were going to a basketball game out of town.  Some friends from that same town had saved some boxes for me.  They had me stop by the church building to pick them up.  Before we left home, I had stuck a $50 bill in my pants pocket (not smart, I know).  Little did I know, it had fallen out when I stopped by to get the boxes. 

When I drove into the parking lot for the ballgame, my friend called and asked if I had happened to have a $50 bill in my pocket when I stopped by.  I said that I did and she said that another friend had found it.  At that time I hadn't even realized it was gone!  However, if I had gone into the game and found that I didn't have the money to pay for my kids and I to get into the game - I would have realized it was gone and had no idea where I had lost it.   I immediately rushed back to the building to get my money - thankful that I lost it where I did and thankful for friends!

About a week ago I lost my watch.  I don't wear it every day, but any time I'm going somewhere out of town for ballgames or to get groceries, I usually wear it. I figured it would show up someday, but had really missed not having it.  Thankfully, I found it Monday in a "catch-all" compartment in our van.

Today's Woman of the Word is a parable - or a story - told by Jesus about a woman who lost a coin, from Luke 15:8-9.

"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.' "

This woman had ten silver coins.  The original Greek says "drachma".  At that time, one drachma was equal to a day's wages.  That's quite a bit of money to lose.

The woman searched and searched for her coin.  She lit a lamp.  She swept the house - which was most likely a dirt floor.  And, then, she found it!  She called (Note: These days we would have texted or Tweeted our friends - or put it as our status on Facebook!) her friends and neighbors and asks them to rejoice with her over finding the lost coin. It was lost - then found.

When I found out that my friend had found my fifty dollars, I rejoiced!  But my rejoicing was different, because something was found that I hadn't even known was lost.  But the rejoicing was because I realized how fortunate I was to have lost it in such a safe place and around my Christian friends.  It was lost - then found.

On the other hand, I knew I had lost my watch. And, I knew that the reason it was lost is because I hadn't put it where it belonged - either on my wrist or on my dresser.  I have no idea why it was found in the car - but it was.  Thankfully! It was lost - then found.

As was the purpose for all of Jesus' parables, he wanted to teach his disciples a lesson.  The lost coin in this parable represents a lost soul.  Just as the one lost coin was searched for until it was found, we, as Christians, must search for lost souls everywhere.  And likewise, as the rejoicing took place over the finding of one coin, we must rejoice over the finding (and saving) of one soul.

The woman who lost the one coin could have been content with her nine remaining coins and decided it wasn't worth her time to search for the last one.  She could have given up after searching and searching - but she didn't.  That one coin was of utmost importance to her.

Each sinner is special to God and there is rejoicing in heaven over each one that repents and comes to know Him. We are all individuals of great importance to our Heavenly Father.

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Luke 15:10