The Lost Coin

“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10

My friend and I enjoy bird watching trips together. Last week I read this scripture as part of my morning devotion time before we left to see the spring migration of the birds. Our first stop was a small waterfall on the river, with hundreds of swallows flying hungrily over the river catching insects and scooping up water to drink. The yellow warbler was there along with the common yellow throat. We watched as a dozen kayakers entered the river for a beautiful day of paddling. We proceeded up the back road to the national refuge seeing the upland sandpiper, bobolinks, and lark sparrows. At the refuge we enjoyed the buffalo and their calves, the meadowlarks, and the cliff swallows stopping at a muddy pool by the river, taking mud into their mouths, and flying back under a bridge close by to build their colony of nests. At that point, my friend noticed that he had lost one of the front pieces of his binoculars. He searched the surrounding ground, the car, and then thought back to all the times we had gotten out of the car. I assured him that we would take the same route back after having lunch and doing some shopping in town. As a backup plan, he looked up the binocular piece on the internet, concerned that it might no longer be available, or might be very expensive as the glasses were 30 years old. On our return trip, we stopped frequently to search for the missing piece, and finally arrived back at the waterfall. My friend looked hard not expecting much and then returned to the car. Once inside he opened his hand to show me the missing piece. We both rejoiced at this. Then I thought of my devotion that morning on the lost coin. I shared it with my friend.

Finding the lost coin or the lost binocular piece reminds us of the joy of God when a sinner repents and becomes a Christian. I remembered the joy and the peace I had seen on the faces of new Christians as they started their new journey in faith that their sins were forgiven.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your messages and parables in the Bible that teach us of the joy to be found in being your followers. Help us to help others to discover this joy and also to help new Christians as they begin their walk in their new faith. Thank you for the joys of your creation, the waterfalls, the birds, the rivers, and the diversity of the animals on this earth. Amen

Nancy Hall