Good Morning! I'm your host Lonnie Wibberding, and you are listening to God Notes. A daily devotional podcast sent out from sunny Southern California.
Today is Friday, January 5, 2024.
We are looking at a story of a lost coin today. It is from a series of three stories. One about a Lost Sheep, another about a Lost Son, and this one, about a lost coin.
Luke 15:8-10 says:
8 “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? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Why three stories? Is Jesus trying to emphasize the point that the lost are a big priority for the Kingdom of Heaven? I think that's part of it. But why the different stories?
Often Jesus told parables that had a lesson not everyone may get right away. But later they would have that aha! moment where it made sense.
Here is what I think he was doing.
The sheep knew it was lost. It may not know how it got there or why, but when sheep are away from the herd they know something is wrong.
The coin is an inanimate object. It doesn't know it is lost. It is also in the house.
If we remember the context of the story, things begin to make sense. He tells these stories in response to the Pharisees muttering about Him hanging out with sinners. So He tells the sheep story. Lesson -- heaven cares a lot about sinners.
Then He follows it up with a "coin lost in the house" story. And ends the story in the same way as the sheep story, saying "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
But the coin is in the house. The coin doesn't know it is lost. The coin is a different kind of lost. The coin is religious people who feel safe in the house of God, but are still lost. The coin is the Pharisees. . .
Ouch! Yet, even for religious people who don't get heaven's passion, and are lost in the house the message is the same.
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Do you have heaven's passion for lost people burning in your heart? It is a warning to those of us who claim to be Christians. It is possible to be lost in the house and never know it.
But even for us, there is hope.
Even for us "there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Who understands God's passion for lost souls and lets that passion change their life.
May God Bless your day. We'll talk again tomorrow.