I believe the reason of life is for each of us to simply grow in love. I believe that this growth in love will contribute more than any other force to establish the kingdom of God on earth. LEO TOLSTOY
Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost! LUKE 15:8-9 NAS
Have you ever lost something and looked and looked for it, and could not find it? Maybe you gave up on finding it, and then one day there it is, remember the feeling? I can relate to this parable by Jesus of the woman and the ten coins. On my mothers side of the family I was the first grandson and because of this I was given my grandfathers gold baby ring. Also I got from my great grandfather his pocket watch. When my mother passed away I received these items to keep safe. For thirteen years after my mothers death my life was self-will run rampant with the use of alcohol and drugs. Somewhere down the line I misplaced my heirlooms. For a year or so after becoming sober I looked for them and could not find them. I just knew that somebody had stolen them and I would never see them again. How let down I was. The only items that were supposed to be passed down to me and I lost them. One day I was looking through an old footlocker that I have and I saw this small plastic box. I opened it and inside there was a rolled up piece of a tee shirt, inside the cloth were my heirlooms. They had been kept safe for many years of my drinking by being hid. I was able to pass them on to my daughter and grandson just as they were passed on to me. I can relate to the parable of the lost coin that Jesus spoke of in more than one way. I was the lost coin at one time in my life, and God sent many to turn on the lights, sweep, look, and search for those that are lost. How wonderful it is to have fellowship with many others who have come together after having been found. We all truly have something in common. I dont want to go back to my old life. God still does for me what I could not do for myself ..JRE
I found it interesting what Lawrence O. Richards Devotional Commentary (page 741) had to say about the lost coin. Share this with me:
Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one Luke 15:8-10. The story of the 1 lost coin was drawn from first-century Jewish daily life. All felt the impact of Christs story of the 10 coins.
These were 10 dowry coins, given the woman when she married. The chances are that she wore them constantly on her headdress. Ten coins were a small dowry, yet were an important symbol to her. They showed that she had worth and value to her father, who had sacrificed to give them to her. And that she came into the marriage as a partner, bringing resources of her own. If she were ever divorced, or widowed, the 10 coins at least were hers, a symbol of her identity as a person. The 10 coins, then were vitally important to her, and the loss of even 1 had far greater significance than the coins intrinsic worth might suggest.
Again Jesus emphasized the intensity with which the woman searched, and her joy at finding the coin. Ecstatic with delight at finding the precious object, she hurried and told her friends.
Again Jesus was affirming the importance of the outcast. Of little intrinsic worth, the coin was vitally important to the woman who lost it. In the same way, while human beings may discount the worth of the outcast, in gods sight every individual is of infinite value. LAWRENCE O. RICHARDS
Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost! LUKE 15:8-9 NAS
Have you ever lost something and looked and looked for it, and could not find it? Maybe you gave up on finding it, and then one day there it is, remember the feeling? I can relate to this parable by Jesus of the woman and the ten coins. On my mothers side of the family I was the first grandson and because of this I was given my grandfathers gold baby ring. Also I got from my great grandfather his pocket watch. When my mother passed away I received these items to keep safe. For thirteen years after my mothers death my life was self-will run rampant with the use of alcohol and drugs. Somewhere down the line I misplaced my heirlooms. For a year or so after becoming sober I looked for them and could not find them. I just knew that somebody had stolen them and I would never see them again. How let down I was. The only items that were supposed to be passed down to me and I lost them. One day I was looking through an old footlocker that I have and I saw this small plastic box. I opened it and inside there was a rolled up piece of a tee shirt, inside the cloth were my heirlooms. They had been kept safe for many years of my drinking by being hid. I was able to pass them on to my daughter and grandson just as they were passed on to me. I can relate to the parable of the lost coin that Jesus spoke of in more than one way. I was the lost coin at one time in my life, and God sent many to turn on the lights, sweep, look, and search for those that are lost. How wonderful it is to have fellowship with many others who have come together after having been found. We all truly have something in common. I dont want to go back to my old life. God still does for me what I could not do for myself ..JRE
I found it interesting what Lawrence O. Richards Devotional Commentary (page 741) had to say about the lost coin. Share this with me:
Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one Luke 15:8-10. The story of the 1 lost coin was drawn from first-century Jewish daily life. All felt the impact of Christs story of the 10 coins.
These were 10 dowry coins, given the woman when she married. The chances are that she wore them constantly on her headdress. Ten coins were a small dowry, yet were an important symbol to her. They showed that she had worth and value to her father, who had sacrificed to give them to her. And that she came into the marriage as a partner, bringing resources of her own. If she were ever divorced, or widowed, the 10 coins at least were hers, a symbol of her identity as a person. The 10 coins, then were vitally important to her, and the loss of even 1 had far greater significance than the coins intrinsic worth might suggest.
Again Jesus emphasized the intensity with which the woman searched, and her joy at finding the coin. Ecstatic with delight at finding the precious object, she hurried and told her friends.
Again Jesus was affirming the importance of the outcast. Of little intrinsic worth, the coin was vitally important to the woman who lost it. In the same way, while human beings may discount the worth of the outcast, in gods sight every individual is of infinite value. LAWRENCE O. RICHARDS
