The Lost Coin
"Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not 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.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" Luke 15:8-10
I began to chew on it a little more yesterday and sort of put myself in the lady's shoes. First of all, I think, "If I lost a $100 bill, which is around the equivalent, I'd be cleaning everything too!" But one thing I'd like to point out...just because that $100 bill was lost, it still didn't lose its value. Even though I couldn't spend it, it was still worth $100. Just because something is lost, does not mean that it doesn't have value.
Its just like this with the lost (without Christ), and it is also like this with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. God has created all of us for a purpose. We all have a purpose because God creates us for a reason. So, just because someone goes astray, does not mean that they do not have gifts, special abilities or goals that God has created them to do. It is our job to find them and bring them back. If we look at our brothers and sisters just like we would that of something of value to us that is lost...we'd all be working to find people and give them to Christ. Everyone is valuable in God's eyes.
We tend to turn on people as they fall away. Instead, its us that should be diligently finding them to take them back to Christ. Its not until we completely surrender to Christ that we are going to be able to understand that this is part of our purpose. Last night I sang the song "Finally I Surrender" by Misty Edwards. Its about finally letting God take the driver's seat in our lives. He can't be the potter if we, as clay, are only moldable in some places and hard in others. Why? Because we then only become PART of what He wants us to me...PART of our full potential.
When we worship, we are not only praising and thanking God, we are surrendering to him. I challenge you to seek God like you would diligently seek that lost $100 bill. Move "heaven and earth" to find HIM. Once you finally surrender, I mean REALLY surrender, to Him, you will look for your fellow lost brothers and sisters with diligence so that they experience Him for the first time, or have a renewal with him as well. One thing you should NEVER forget: HE ALWAYS IS SEEKING YOU...just as the precious treasure you are.
That was my worship theme last night.
