Topics – Identity in Christ, Love
In the parable of the lost coin, the woman calls her friends and neighbors together to rejoice with her when she finds it. Greg explores why she was so excited to recover a single coin of seemingly limited value.
Focus Scripture – Luke 15:8-10HIDESHOW
8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins [a] and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Extended SummaryHIDESHOW
In the parable of the lost coin, the woman calls her friends and neighbors together to rejoice with her when she finds it. Greg explores why she was so excited to recover a single coin of seemingly limited value.
From her response to finding the coin, it seems clear that the coin has great personal value to her—even though it is not especially valuable in the market of her time. Greg offered a possible explanation of this. Among peasants at that time, there was a custom of giving a necklace of 10 silver coins as a sign of the marriage covenant. In other words a wedding necklace—much like a wedding ring of today. An item like this would clearly be of great personal value.
The value of the missing coin is one that the woman places on it, not the value the market of the day places on it. This is also how it is with our own value before God. God values us so highly that he came to earth personally, suffered and died so that he might recover us each individually! This is an infinite value that we each carry because of the value God places on us. The real danger is in not believing we have this value individually. Our culture evaluates individuals very differently than God does. Our culture is interested in our wealth, our appearance, our accomplishments, our race, our politics, our religious affiliations and many other things. We can only really trust one or the other. Either we believe God about our value, or we end up trusting our culture and those around us to establish our individual worth.
Just like the woman in the parable, God is looking for you individually and rejoices over the individual who was lost but is now found and reunited with God.
From her response to finding the coin, it seems clear that the coin has great personal value to her—even though it is not especially valuable in the market of her time. Greg offered a possible explanation of this. Among peasants at that time, there was a custom of giving a necklace of 10 silver coins as a sign of the marriage covenant. In other words a wedding necklace—much like a wedding ring of today. An item like this would clearly be of great personal value.
The value of the missing coin is one that the woman places on it, not the value the market of the day places on it. This is also how it is with our own value before God. God values us so highly that he came to earth personally, suffered and died so that he might recover us each individually! This is an infinite value that we each carry because of the value God places on us. The real danger is in not believing we have this value individually. Our culture evaluates individuals very differently than God does. Our culture is interested in our wealth, our appearance, our accomplishments, our race, our politics, our religious affiliations and many other things. We can only really trust one or the other. Either we believe God about our value, or we end up trusting our culture and those around us to establish our individual worth.
Just like the woman in the parable, God is looking for you individually and rejoices over the individual who was lost but is now found and reunited with God.
Practical Applications (homework)HIDESHOW
The parable of the Lost Coin is just one of the stories that helps explain God’s boundless love for all of us. Even though the coin that the woman in the story lost had very little monetary value (it was called a drachma), it likely had personal value to her as a piece of a wedding necklace from her husband. In the same way, most of us are “drachma people” – we have relatively little value by the world’s standards since we’re not wealthy, beautiful or famous. But to God, we have infinite personal value! This truth is difficult for most of us to accept, so try and lock it in by completing this homework:
- Part of the reason we have trouble comprehending God’s infinite love for us is because we know there are billions of other people on the planet for him to love. It’s tough for us to get our minds around the concept of infinity!
- Find a quiet place to pray where you won’t be distracted. In your imagination, picture yourself as the only person on the planet. You’re Adam, and God just created an entire world for you to explore and enjoy. There are countless places for you to go, things for you to see, and experiences for you to have. Let your mind wander as you imagine that you have no limits or boundaries, and no other people to compare yourself to.
- Now, picture God enjoying this world with you. Imagine him showing you mountains, oceans, waterfalls and forests that he created just for you. He doesn’t care about mistakes you’ve made or how you could be a better person or a better Christian. He just relishes your time together and his full attention and love are focused on you alone!
- Try to get a sense for how immense and endless this love is, and lock this in as God’s attitude toward you. It doesn’t matter that the world may see you as a “drachma person,” because you have infinite personal value to God. He loves you as if there were no other people in the universe to love.
Reflection QuestionsHIDESHOW
- What stood out to you most from this message and the supporting texts?
- In what ways did the Pharisees and teachers set different values on various groups of people at that time? How does this parable challenge the views/assumptions that the Pharisees and teachers of the day might have had about different groups of people?
- What ways does our current culture use to evaluate individuals? What are some of the effects of this way of evaluating?
- How is the woman like God in her evaluation of the coin she’s lost? What does this mean for us as individuals?
- Can you imagine God as the woman sweeping the house diligently searching just for you individually? Isn’t that exactly what the point of this parable is?