Lost in Our Own Home

"The Lost Drachma" by James Tissot
Courtesy Brooklyn Museum

When God looks for us sometimes He doesn't have to go very far to find us.

In my last post, I wrote about a story involving God looking for someone who has wandered far away.  Today's story involves a similar scenario, but with a twist.  The searcher doesn't have to go far to find that which was lost, but that doesn't make the search any easier.

This story involves a woman should have ten pieces of silver, but only has nine.  She knows that the silver pieces have never left the house, so the missing one must be around somewhere.  No doubt we can identify with her situation in one way or another.  At one point or another we have lost something in our own homes; something valuable, i. e. our keys.  We know that they are in our home somewhere because the car is here and we are inside, but for the life of us we cannot find them.  The situation often becomes more intense by the fact that we need to go to an appointment, work, or some other time-sensitive engagement.  We leave "no stone unturned" as the saying goes, in our search for our missing item.

In the story involving the woman she has no appointment to go to, but she still desperately needs to find that silver piece.  She lives in a time and place where women received a dowry, and she wishes to pass these silver pieces on to her daughter, all of them.  An incomplete set simply will not do.  The loss of even one of these pieces would be a serious problem.  The poverty in which she lives only serves to compound her anxiety.  So she cleans the entire house looking for this piece of silver, and great rejoicing comes as a result of her finally finding it.

One of the main differences that exist between this story and the one with the lost sheep is that the sheep knows it's in trouble.  It knows it has done/is doing things that aren't right.  It knows that it needs help; needs to be found.  On the other hand, people represented by the piece of silver think that they are doing alright.  They often profess to be believers in God, and may be quite active in their respective churches, communities, etc.  They may also be out there "in the world" and have become desensitized to their true need of God.  They think these ways while all the time living under the same roof as faithful believers.

People in this category often receive harsh treatment, the religious ones being called "hypocrites" and being used as an excuse by those in open rebellion as the reason they rebelled.  The non-religious ones often receive the label "lost cause" and people do not even try to reach out to them.  We need to be crystal clear that these people have as much value and need to be sought after as much, or even more than, those who have openly gone away from God.  One author put it this way.

"The coin, though lying among dust and rubbish, is a piece of silver still. Its owner seeks it because it is of value. So every soul, however degraded by sin, is in God's sight accounted precious. As the coin bears the image and superscription of the reigning power, so man at his creation bore the image and superscription of God; and though now marred and dim through the influence of sin, the traces of this inscription remain upon every soul. God desires to recover that soul and to retrace upon it His own image in righteousness and holiness"  Christ's Object Lessons pg. 194

This simple truth remains, God loves everyone, even those who have no feeling, no real sense, that they walk the wrong path, and in order for these "coins" to be found we need to have that same love for them in our hearts.

Looking for You

"Seeking the Lost Sheep in the Mountains"
courtesy La Vista Church of Christ

God is looking for you, even if we don't think we are worth the effort.

There is one fact that I want you to be perfectly clear about, and that is that God loves you.  We have heard people say a lot about God loving the world (if we hear even that much), and often lose sight of the fact that He loves us as  individuals.  It doesn't matter what we have done, or even what we are doing right now, He still loves us; loves me; loves you.

Many stories exist that, in one way or another, try to illustrate that love.  The one I read most recently involves a man who owned some sheep, a hundred of them to be exact.  Now at the end of the day when he brought all the sheep in from grazing, it seems as though one was missing.  He counts again, and sure enough, only ninety-nine sheep.  He could have thought that it was too much trouble to go out into the darkness to find this one sheep.  He could have thought that the lost sheep will get what it deserves for wandering away.  He could have thought up so many excuses not to go out, but instead he chose to look for that one lost sheep.

A storm started to brew, but that did not deter him.  It only served to increase the earnestness of his search.  Despite the darkness of the night and the danger of the path, he searches until at long last he hears the faint sound of his lost sheep.  He can tell that if he doesn't get to it soon it will be too late, and with great joy he at last finds it.  He doesn't scold or punish the sheep, but rather takes it in his arms and brings it to the place of safety.  It didn't matter what the sheep had done, he was simply glad to bring it home.

One writer put it this way

"Desponding soul, take courage, even though you have done wickedly. Do not think that perhaps God will pardon your transgressions and permit you to come into His presence. God has made the first advance. While you were in rebellion against Him, He went forth to seek you. With the tender heart of the shepherd He left the ninety and nine and went out into the wilderness to find that which was lost."  Christ's Object Lessons pgs. 188-189

One of the greatest lies going around is the one that states that we have gone too far, committed too many sins to be loved by a holy God, but that could not be further from the truth.  However far we have gone, He will go even farther to bring us to Him.  Don't worry about trying to fix yourself ahead of time, simply allow yourself to be found, and He will find you because He is looking for you.

Seeking but not Finding

If Christians claim to read the same Scriptures and follow the same God, why does it seem that so many are lacking the truth?


The book Christ's Object Lessons, which is a relatively small book on the parables of Jesus, contains a chapter on "The Parable of the Hidden Treasure" (you can find the parable in Matthew 13:44).  The chapter, aptly titled "Hidden Treasure" contains subtitles covering various aspects of the parable.  As I read the section subtitled "Search for the Treasure" I came upon the answer to the aforementioned question.

The treasure in the parable represents God's word, and more importantly, a correct understanding of His word.  Why then do so many Christians lack an understanding of the Bible truth?  One could say, "That's simple, not everyone actually reads and understands the Bible even though they say that they do."   However, such an answer only contains part of the truth.  Why don't people truly read and understand God's word?  The answer to that question may be difficult for many people to accept.  The author of the book answers it in this way.

"[The word of God] is an inexhaustible treasure; but men fail to find this treasure because they do not search until it is within their possession. Very many are content with a supposition in regard to the truth. They are content with a surface work, taking for granted that they have all that is essential. They take the sayings of others for truth, being too indolent to put themselves to diligent, earnest labor, represented in the word as digging for hidden treasure. But man's inventions are not only unreliable, they are dangerous; for they place man where God should be. They place the sayings of men where a 'Thus saith the Lord' should be." pgs. 109, 110

 Very few people want to have such words as superficial, gullible, and indolent, associated with their character, yet such associations will exist if they do no put forth the diligent effort necessary to truly understand God's word.  So many professed teachers and spiritual leaders attempt to explain the Scriptures using their faulty human reasoning.  The author likens that to trying to give light to the sun with a torch.  God's holy word needs no such addition to make it truths known, and we need not to follow such leaders.  As Jesus once said, "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into a pit?" Luke 6:39

Thankfully, the effort to understand God's word does not go without assistance.

"The Holy Spirit, sent from heaven by the benevolence of infinite love, takes the things of God and reveals them to every soul that has an implicit faith in Christ. By His power the vital truths upon which the salvation of the soul depends are impressed upon the mind, and the way of life is made so plain that none need err therein. As we study the Scriptures, we should pray for the light of God's Holy Spirit to shine upon the word, that we may see and appreciate its treasures" pg. 113

 Help us, Lord, to trust in You, and You alone to lead us into all truth.