‘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?
Luke 15:8 NIVUK
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As well as being valued, we are sought after.
The owner of the silver coin didn’t just scream in horror and collapse in a desperate heap of wailing and weeping. No, she did something practical. She started to look around her house to try to find the coin.
Jesus tells us exactly what she did:
‘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?
Luke 15:8 NIVUK
She does three things.
Firstly, she lights a lamp.
Ancient Middle Eastern houses had no source of light except for window holes through which sunlight streamed. This meant that there were always parts of the house which were in shadows and darkness. This woman believes that, since she can’t see it, the coin is likely in one of those darkened nooks and crannies.
So she lights a lamp – likely an oil lamp – to search in those darkened places.
There is a lesson here. For us to be found by God, we must be willing to come out of the dark places where we hide and let the light of Gospel truth shine on us. As John explains:
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7 NIVUK
The light of the Gospel is like an x-ray or any other medical scan: it shows what’s wrong with us so that it can be treated and repaired.
But we have to realise that this process is not always a comfortable one.
Let me give you an example. A few years ago my wife had a cancer scare. Our local doctors were very good and quickly arranged for her to get an ultrasound done. The ultrasound found the suspect growth, but was inconclusive on whether or not it was cancerous, so a biopsy was done.
The biopsy – praise God – was negative. But, I have to tell you, waiting on those results was not a nice experience. It would have been much worse if the scans had confirmed that the growth was not benign. The only single benefit this outcome could possibly have had would be that we had caught it very early, but we are so grateful that it didn’t come to that.
When we allow the light of the Gospel to shine on us, we have to know that it might expose parts of our lives that we’d rather remain hidden. However, this is a good thing. It enables us to find problems and fix them. It might hurt, but at least it avoids a much bigger issue.
We also see that she swept the house, checking to see if somehow the coin was concealed by the dust or sand from outside.
This is also a picture of what happens when Jesus finds us: He will want to clean house. He will want to sweep out the dust and the grime of a life lived in disobedience to God and to make us a vessel fit for His purpose. It is in this process that our humble heart becomes a Temple fit for the Lord.
But it might not be easy. Or straightforward.
There are aspects of our life where even the best of us can be dependent on habits or behaviours that are unhealthy for us and other people.
We can be like the rich young ruler. He approached Jesus with an honest request for Jesus to fill the lack that he felt, and his lack of assurance that he would make it to heaven. What he got from Jesus was a light shed on a part of his life where he wasn’t really following God, but was instead worshiping money, and he couldn’t let go (Luke 18:18-23).
We shouldn’t be surprised if Jesus wants to clean these up. Like those ten coins, our task is to shine for Him as an expression of love (Matthew 5:16). We can’t do this if the grime of our sin stops the light from reaching us.
We also see that she did this task carefully, or diligently. She was attentive. She did not blunder around or treat her home with disrespect. Her priority was to find the coin. Nothing would prevent her from reaching her goal, but she would not carry it out like a bull in a china shop.
Jesus us like that with us. As we agree to Him cleaning us up, He works with us to transform us into His likeness (Philippians 2:12-13). He does bully or force our hand. He works with us carefully.
The gentle and determined haste with which this woman searches for something so precious is deeply encouraging to me. It is a wonderful example of how God takes us as we are and helps us to become who He is.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, it is such a beautiful truth that you don’t write me off as lost, but you seek after me to find me. I will step into the light of your Word and glory. I want to be cleaned up. I want to be found by you and follow you. Amen.
Questions
1. Why did this woman seek after her silver coin? In the same way, why does God seek after us?
2. What do the things she does teach us about what God does when He finds us?
3. Given the things we saw in question number 2, are you willing to be found by Jesus?
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