Finding the Lost Diamond and the Lost Coin
I was inspired for this blog today by a friend’s good news yesterday. She posted: “Praise report… my engagement ring had lost the diamond about 2 weeks ago. Bruce and I tore apart the house and cars looking for it. No diamond. We pretty much chalked it up to being lost. We have had a lot of challenges financially and we felt Satan has just been testing our patience and pocketbooks lately. God says to stay strong in Him. He promises to always be with us. This has been our comfort. While cleaning the kitchen floor tonight, to get ready for an event tomorrow night, Bruce saw something sparkle and glitter. My diamond!!! How many times we have walked by here, including the dog who eats everything off the floor! We have been so busy that we had not vacuumed the floor the past 2 weeks. And it was by the trash can, but never in it! What a wonderful surprise! I truly believe it is a God thing. So, take that Satan! In your face??! ?
I loved that story. My comment to her: “Redemption story! So beautiful! My inspiration for an upcoming blog — like the woman in the Bible searching for her lost coin! Thanks be to God! What the enemy meant for evil — God turned it into a testimony for you and ME!”
The woman in Luke 15:8-10 was determined, surely not a quitter – and she found the coin, she was relentless in sharing her good news. Bonus for her – she got her exercise by running around, and I got a blog! Jesus taught this parable, sandwiched between the Prodigal Son story and the lost sheep story. He describes the length He will go to find us. The story doesn’t talk about how the coin got lost but instead talks about the delight in the woman when she found the coin.
We are all lost coins (and diamonds). We all have parts in our life that God is desperate to get into and change it for the better if we let Him. Jesus used that story to describe us. The coins must have been very precious, probably worth the daily wage of a worker in today’s times. If she had a hundred coins, maybe she wouldn’t have noticed, but one out of ten, she was ready to go all the way to search for it. Fortunately, we have a Father that notices everything that gets lost. God goes all the way out to search for the one coin that goes missing.
It describes how vauable we are to Him. We are precious to God. He sees us and loves us and wants each of us in the fold. The end of that parable, Jesus said in verse 10: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Maybe you’re locked in — tight and secure – loving, living, resting in God’s Kingdom. On the other hand, maybe you’re hiding out somewhere in a nook or cranny – holding out a little longer, wanting it your way a little longer. But, you matter. God wants you in His family. He won’t give up searching for you. And for those already in the family of God, the Lord seeks the lost coin through you and me. He constantly seeks sinners through the people of God and through the Church.
The Lord is merciful and loving and He places a high value on us, not wishing that any of His kids get lost forever. He loves us with a love that’s hard to understand. God paid the ultimate price to find the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost prodigal son. He gave His beloved, one and only Son, to take our place and die for us. Redemption is ours. We can be found!
My prayer is, by God’s grace, that we partner with Him to be that woman who searched and found the diamond in her ring and to be that woman who searched and found her coin. May we become so compassionate towards all those who are lost in this world, that we may find grace to keep our eyes and hearts wide open to find them and bring them home.