An Excerpt from Finding the Way

8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not

light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9

When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying,

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10 In the same

way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one

sinner who repents” (Luke 15:8–10).

The women swept the house and searched carefully until she found the coin.

We all know that sweeping means to clean an area by brushing away dirt and

litter, and we all have had to look for something that we have misplaced.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious

thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the

everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23–24). When you look at Psalms 139, have

you ever viewed the parable of the coin as God sifting through all the walls

we put up and all the baggage we carry till He finally locates “you?” When I

visualize this parable in my head, I see God turning on His bright light of

truth and rummaging around my hoarding heart and mind. God’s love burns

away every one of those hurtful memories and all those embarrassing

moments that cloud my mind. I can actually feel the warmth of God’s light,

filling me up with unconditional love and acceptance. I can feel the

excitement of God as He declares my name as His own child, and, in the

background, I can hear the cheers of voices joyous at the declaration. I know

in my heart that extensive search means that God went through all the refuse

between God and me, to claim me as His own. That knowledge makes me cry

to think I actually am valuable. As you read that visualization, I pray with all

my heart you understand and can feel the intensity in Jesus’s parable as He

attempts to display His love for you.

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L. Kathleen Cline

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