Lost and Found

The parable of the lost silver coin has stuck with me today. The woman in Luke 15,  had ten silver coins but one was missing. This whole chapter is dealing with lost and found in several different ways. First the Shepard leaves the 99 sheep to find the one that is lost. He finds it and brings it back. then is the parable of the lost silver coin. She already had the other nine. In fact she had all ten at one time or she wouldn't have known that one was lost. They were valuable to her. Reading commentaries, they suggest the woman represents Jesus. We are the silver coins. The things that stick with me is lighting a candle to look for it. God's word is a light unto our path. This woman starts to clean house. Sweeping and cleaning to find this lost coin. I think it is me. I have belonged to God for a long time. I went through some difficult times. I think I got lost in the cob webs of life. As the church goes, so goes our culture.  This is what sweeping is about, cleaning up the inside. We are God's silver coins and we are valuable to him. He is looking for the missing silver, the missing value in our lives. He sheds light on us to show the dirt and cobwebs. He works to clean us up. We are valuable in his sight.  If I could put names to these silver coins, I would. Family and children names would go on them. They are valuable to God and to me. At one time we were raised in a so called Christian home, it was less than perfect. Welcome to the human race.  we are God's silver coins and he is looking for us. When he finds us, he shines us up and puts us up for others to see. The Ten silver coins was in the Jewish culture a symbol like our wedding bands today.  There have been many changes in my life over the years. My understanding has changed or increased on some things. Recently on the third commandment, my understanding of that commandment came to be more than just saying God's name in a exclamation of profanity. But miss-using his name and attributing God to things that he probably cares nothing about/ Perhaps to push an issue that I care about, using God's name to further my cause, when it is something not in his word. That is the cleaning that God does in our hearts and lives that fits this parable today. We are precious in his sight, whom he loves he chastens. He works with us through out our lives. God bless, LVZ.