Loved When I’m Lost

 

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she 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.” (Luke 15:8,9 NIV)

Of all the parables about lost things, this is the most unique. Jesus takes time to describe a woman who is looking for something in her house. The crazy thing about this parable is that the coin was lost in a familiar place. It was not stolen. It was not swiped by a thief on the side of the road. This coin was lost in a place where it should be secure. An area that should be safe. A place where guards could be let down. A place that should be filled with happy moments. This coin was lost in the house.

Here’s the challenge with the parable. Things (in this case, individuals) can get lost inside as well as the outside. In fact, one could posit that more people are lost inside than out. On the inside, there are few people who know what’s going on. On the inside, very few people are aware of the intricacies and daily challenges that occur. The coin in the parable is lost, and no one on the outside would know anything about it. 

Have you been there? Lost and no one knows it? How many of us have experienced that? You could be in a room full of people and still be all alone. In a familiar place, around people that say they love you or think that they have the best interest in mind but yet have no clue that you are still lost. Here’s the beauty of this text. Even though the coin is lost inside, the one that’s looking for it knows every inch of the house. Jesus shows us that the search is equally intimate as it is intense. Couch pillows are moved, refrigerators pushed out of the way. The window sills dusted, and beds rearranged. The entire house is impacted because what some would consider a small coin, was valuable to its owner. 

Have you ever felt lost? Here we see the depths to which God goes to for those who have been lost inside. When you are lost on the inside, this parable reveals that He can find you without the fanfare. He can locate you without the party. God shows his love to us in a particular way.

God will do whatever it takes to reveal his love for you. He may have allowed challenges in our life. He may have even orchestrated events so that He could meet you here. Today. Reading this devotional just to show you His love… again. 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV ) 

Thought Questions:

  1. What is the typical reaction when one feels like they are far away from God? 
  2. How does it feel knowing that God will do whatever it takes to keep you close to Him?