What are you searching for?

Luke 15: 6-10

How does a person establish value, Jesus is telling the story of a woman who had ten silver coins and if she lost one, Jesus did not say she did, but if she did she would begin the search for the lost coin.  I’m sure at some point you have lost or misplaced something of value and if you are like me you begin the process first in your mind, where was the last place I put the thing of value.

And like the woman in the story you might turn on all the lights in the house so as to see clearly, and then you might sweep the house and the search begins with diligently looking under beds, moving tables, chairs, couches, and going through shelves and drawers in search of whatever the item is that has value.

But in 2015 I wonder how many of you identify with the lost coin, for coins are something many of us put into a dish on a counter and refuse to carry with us, and that is why I ask the question, what is of value to you, something that you would diligently search for?  For some it might be glasses, especially if your sight is dependent on those glasses, for others it might be a wedding ring, a watch that was your grandfather’s, and the list goes on, it’s your list so you add the items that would cause you to not rest until you found them.

In Jesus’ story the woman called in all of her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her over finding the one silver coin that was lost.  It seems that the lost coin had become very public; and maybe she used the social media of her day to get the word out to her friends and neighbors of the value she placed on this silver coin.

No where in the story is Jesus shaming the woman for her diligently seeking the silver coin, but the question must be asked, what do you value?  For all the items listed have some value, but none have eternal value, yet we much like the woman in the story told by Jesus often give them value that is not in keeping with what the angels in heaven rejoice over.  Did you read verse 10, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus understood the value we place on many things, but do we grasp the value God has placed on the lowliest of sinners?  Most of us have in our memory John 3:16, but Church, have you forgotten the teaching of John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  What we value is where we put our energy, is your energy directed at just one sinner, or are you consumed with seeking more stuff that has no eternal value?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice