Luke 15 - The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
This is a continuation of the idea Jesus was trying to convey in the parable of the lost sheep. As I re-read over this section, I think I really get the point.
Our God is happy when someone turns away from destruction!
He is joyful and all those in His presence are joyful. This should be our joy, as well - when a sinner repents or when a lost person is saved. God loves people and He wants us to live the way He designed. He wants us to have fellowship with Him - He wants us to be fully restored in every way. This is His joy - just like someone who has spent hours and hours trying to find something valuable and then - aha! - there it is! I found it!
I once read a post by someone who said, "Does God want anything?" I don't remember who the person was, but they went on to say that the fact that God is sovereign precludes Him from wanting - He gets what He wants, period. He never wrings His hands or has to work to make something happen - He just wills it and it comes to pass. I think this story depicts a kind of longing and searching that doesn't fit in with that understanding of the omnipotence and sovereignty of God. Jesus did choose the image of a woman looking and looking. Christ chose that image for some reason.
posted by Rose~ at 9:35 PM
11 Comments:
Good post.
By
Matthew Celestine, at 7/20/2006 5:15 AM
God is sovereign and omnipotent but that does not mean that He chooses to use that power to get everything He wants. He desires our obedience, our worship and a relationship with us, and He does not force these things. God told the Israelites that He desires mercy, not sacrifice. Is that a God who does not "want"?
I agree with Matthew, it is a good post. :)
By
Angie, at 7/20/2006 6:43 AM
Make that three to say Amen! You are a wise sister. ;-)
By
Kc, at 7/20/2006 8:27 AM
My friends,
Thank you for your words of encouragement. DF, you are so dependable. Angie, I think God seeks a "relationship" with his creation. Inherent in that concept, there is some wanting. I think this is what you are saying and I agree. KC, you are a wise brother. God bless your heart.
By
Rose~, at 7/20/2006 11:39 AM
I want to re-iterate, if I have not already, that these parables of Luke are not intended to convey salvific truth, but familial truth.
Rose, you made a comment about someone appropriating eternal life, and that God desires such and has joy. To that I would not have qualms. But to derive that from these parables you give, I would have a problem. That would be wishy-washy with the intent of these parables.
We are talking about a coin that is already the possesion of the lady! The coin is not in her immediate care, but she is searching for it.
God is very concerned for His own. He is always in the business of seeking His wayward children, through the means that He deems fit.
The first two of the three, the lost sheep, and the lost coin, are to give encouragement to the wayward child of God, that God still cares about him and that He is expending effort to restore him to harmonious relations to himself.
The third, the lost son, is given to show the wayward child of God that He is awaiting our return from his profligate and wallowing in the mire lifestyle.
There is no doubt in any of the parables that this has to do with restoration to harmonious relations and NOT to eternal life in the fact that:
1) the lost sheep was indeed from the flock of the Shepherd
2) the lost coin was the possession of the woman
3) the lost son was a legitamate son of the Father
This has to do with the restoration to fellowship and harmonious relations and not to eternal life.
We must affirm this or we will get into much scriptural troubles...
My thoughts,
Antonio
By
Antonio, at 7/20/2006 11:08 PM
Hi Antonio,
What I said was: This should be our joy, as well - when a sinner repents or when a lost person is saved.
I believe I understand these two parables the way you do [whaddaya know! I never read ZH's comments on them ... or anything from you about these parables, as far as I know :~)]
- but I think with this particular parable, it is not so specific as to rule out that finding the coin excludes God "finding a sinner - when a lost person is saved."
I do believe that the main thrust is not salvific, so I will yeild on that - and I draw that conclusion from the two surrounding parables: It is clear to me that the lost sheep was a sheep - a wanderer - and that the parable was about losing one's way because of wicked living/God's joy over personal repentance. The prodigal son - well, I will post on that next. :~)
By
Rose~, at 7/21/2006 11:05 AM
I also think it is interesting to wonder how the coin got lost. We know sheep and sons can walk away, coins don't move by themselves. The only way a coin moves is if someone moves it. perhaps the woman was about to go use the coin at the store and dropped it. Again, the one that rolls away is the one who gets undivided attention. If you are just sitting around, not doing anything, not only will you not rebel but you won't accomplish anything for the Master. Getting things done often implies some difficulty and temptation, even a fall. God hates the lukewarm sitters. Lighten up, though, God loves you, get busy! Good post!
By
jeff, at 7/22/2006 9:54 AM
Hi Rose~
;~)
By
J. Wendell, at 7/24/2006 2:17 PM
Rose,
I think you're onto something, huge, in your last paragraph! When people define God's sovereignty as unable to be touched or moved by His creation (us)--you've just witnessed the impact of Thomas Aquinas upon theology. In other words Aquinas integrated Artistotelian categories with Christian thought--and now we've ended up with the "Un-moved Mover" as God. But contrarily, as you've pointed out, God's character is actually one that does move and respond motivated by His love for His creation (see Phil. 2:5-8). Amen, I whole-heartedly agree with your point there!
By
Anonymous, at 7/24/2006 4:04 PM
God loves people and He wants us to live the way He designed. He wants us to have fellowship with Him - He wants us to be fully restored in every way. Thanks for this.
By
Nellie Bellie, at 7/24/2006 4:37 PM
Hi Jeff!
What an interesting thought. The inanimate nature of the coin that you bring up confirms my thinking that perhaps the point of the parable of the lost coin was about the woman who lost it, not the coin at all.
Hi John! :~)
Hello Bobby,
Thomas Aquinas, huh? Thank you for sharing your thoughts - it is always good to put a name to a thought. I appreciate your help with the history of these things. Perhaps you could go over to UOG and see my comment on Matthew's new post and give an answer to a hisory-related question I have there. Thanks!!
Hi Nellie!
What a cute fuss-budget! Thanks for visiting and picking a specific thought that you could appreciate. God bless you and yours.
By
Rose~, at 7/25/2006 10:54 AM
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