Just Thinking 26
Several years ago on one of my trips to Manchester, I went shopping with my then 3-year-old grandson. I gave him a £2 coin to pay for a few items. He was given a change of a 2p coin which I asked him to keep.
I then went to the petrol station to buy fuel for my return trip to London. On my return from the kiosk to pay for the fuel, I heard him cry uncontrollably in the car. Very unlike him. I asked him what was the problem. He said, “I lost my money!” I reassured him that I’ll search for it when we get home. On getting back to my daughter’s house, he reminded me of my promise.
I searched the child’s car seat and the car floor but couldn’t find the 2p coin. To pacify him, I gave him a 10p coin but surprisingly he was not impressed. With that, I kept on searching. I then found the 2p coin trapped in an opening underneath the child’s car seat. I told him, “I’ve found your money!” He jumped with excitement beaming with smiles! He went proudly to his mum to show off his “two monies”.
The parable of the lost coin
That reminded me of one of the parables of Jesus Christ in Luke 15:8-10 (ESV) which says,
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Jesus gave this parable to remind us of God’s desire to find people lost in sin and to bring them back to Himself. God loves us all but He hates sin. He is never satisfied until a sinner repents of sin and is saved. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is patient with us and does not want anyone to perish because of sin. He wants us all to come to repentance.
Heaven celebrates when we repent and come back to God. We are like the lost and precious coin that is found by Him.
For those of us found by God, we have been given the mandate to help with the search for the lost. So, let’s do it together so that we can join in the heavenly celebration for those found!
