3/6/2020 – The Parable of the Lost Coin

Passage: Luke 15:8–10

Written By: Susan Tucker- Undergrad

Although I rarely carry cash, I know what the value of a dollar bill is. When I do have “real” money, I want to hold on to it, and it doesn’t matter if it’s crisp or wrinkled and dirty. When I lose money, I spend all day thinking about where it could be and retracing my steps until I find it. The woman in the parable does the same thing. She goes through her entire house, searching for her lost coin. If you had $10 and lost $1, would you not do the same thing? I know I would. When she finds it, she is so excited that she throws a party.

In this scenario, God is the woman, and we are the coins. Yes, the nine coins that she has in her hand are wonderful, but the one lost coin is still worth just as much as the other nine. Just because it is lost, however, the single coin is not worth less. Money has an intrinsic value, and that value cannot be separated from it. In the same vein, there are people in our community who are considered “lost” or “less than,” but are they not also human? God created everyone in his image, not just people we see at church or our families. In his eyes, we are all beautifully and wonderfully made. To be more like God, we should try to see everyone in the way He does. This still applies (especially) when they are marginalized or belittled by society or condemned by the Church. We are all sinners and judging others for their sins does not make ours any less. God has washed away our sin with his sacrifice, and we should spend every day trying to be more like Him and rejoicing in finding our lost coins, regardless of their conditions.