Find a penny pick it up all day long you'll have good luck. Honestly... do you? I don't. If I see a penny on the ground, I won't stop to pick it up. Sadly, I don't find that much value in the coin. And second to that, "luck" only favors the prepared. So what's the point? Which leads me to why I never really understood what all that fuss was about when that woman in the Bible story lost a coin and then turned her whole house upside down trying to find it. It wasn't necessarily a true story, but rather a parable which Jesus told. Not to say, that it couldn't have been true... Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:8-10 NKJV I used to just think that I either didn't grasp the value of that silver coin from the time period. Or that the woman simply must have been so poor that I couldn't relate. But after a bit of research I've found that neither of these is a necessary contemplation. And the key to it all was found in this clue... ten silver coins. For why did Jesus use that number of coins? It had to be significant? Well, it seems that when a woman of Jesus' day was betrothed, the dowry given by her family was to be ten coins. They were bound to a headpiece worn as a band across the forehead to show that she was engaged. This too, was to be her property even after marriage, and did not belong to her husband. Now if she lost the headband or any of the coins, it could obviously mean that she had less to count on should she ever be left on her own. But being one coin short might also cause her husband to suspect her of wrongfully spending it without his prior approval. Unfortunately, divorce in those days was heavily in favor of the man and gave no voice, nor resolution to the woman. Although we know not her husband, it would seem that this woman could not afford being shamed, ridiculed or spurned by society over one lost coin. To her, was well worth turning over the house to find that coin to keep her dowry intact. For the coin meant security, peace, restoration, and belonging to her. It kept her in a home and helped to secure her future. And this the comparison Jesus gave... this coin was valuable to the woman as part of a set. It belonged on the headband, a space reserved just for it to be sewn back on. And any of us who are lost to this world and far from Jesus are just as precious to Him. He will tear apart the house if He has to, shining His light, making a sure sweep of all darkness, carefully calling and searching still. For He has a place reserved for each of us. We all belong with Him. We are His bride, whom He paid a high price to redeem. And He longs to give each of us security, peace, restoration, and belonging that only comes freely through His grace and favor. For when the coin is found it's not luck to the one who picked it up, but rather... joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Word of God train me today... To shine the light You have placed in me, that I may be part of the search party looking for lost coins. To never neglect understanding anyone's plight in search for what they have lost.
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January 2019
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