Whenever I’ve heard the term “lost” (as in lost people, not the mega-popular television series) I usually think of people that’ve lost their way, who don’t know where they are. Whether misguided, blindfolded or just forgetful, they’ve stumbled into an area where they don’t know where they are, where they’re going or how to get back to the place they know.
Other times I’ve heard the term used as a label for people that are “unsaved” or “damned” to hell. Sometimes it’s spoken with a tone that condescending and derisive. It’s as if the person saying the word is better than the person he or she is attaching the label to.
Jesus, however, Who should be the total and ultimate authority on how to define someone that is lost, had a very different and very clear way of describing this state of being. In fact, it probably started like a lot of His parables, with a phrase like, “the kingdom of God is like this…” and then he told a story that those in His audience would remember. This particular story is often called The Parable of the Lost Coin.
I can relate to this story, because I recently lost something I value. I was given a Zoom H1 Handy Recorder to review for our LIFEstyle section in HM Magazine. It’s about a $100 digital recorder with two high-tech looking microphones. It’ll save the stereo recordings in .wav or .mp3 formats. I’ve been wanting to test drive one of these for almost a year now. I finally got my hands on one a couple months ago. I was planning on using it at the Underoath show that came through Austin in January. As things turned out I did not work that show, but that’s the last night I saw that thing. Now, I had used it a few times prior to losing it, so I could write my evaluation and review properly, but it was driving me up the wall that I’d lost this thing. Of course, my family got grilled about the last time they’d seen it, etc. I had this feeling of dread, panic and depression as I thought about having to replace that thing or perhaps never being able to use it again. I was in a state of despair.
I imagine you can relate to this feeling. When you lose something, sometimes you despair over the loss; but you also torture yourself with the frustration and self-judgment that you’re “so stupid and untrustworthy” that you can’t even hold on to something. It’s almost a savage condemnation my mind will play on me. I feel terrible. Basically, I’d do almost anything to find this thing again. It’s really driving me up the wall to not know where it is or how it got lost.
That is the angle that Jesus was driving home with His parable about the lost coin. This lady turned her house upside-down looking for that thing. When she found it, she rejoiced and threw a party. He even adds an interesting anecdote about what Heaven is like. He says, “All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.” That’s so cool and rich. I can imagine Heaven being one joyful party after another.
The reason my H1 recorder was “lost” and not forgotten is that it’s valuable to me. The point that Jesus was driving home is that we are valuable to God. We matter to God. He cares about us. We have great worth in God’s eyes. So much so that He seeks us out. He pursues us like a hound on the hunt, like a lady looking for her lost coin, like Doug Van Pelt searching everywhere for his Zoom H1 Handy Recorder.
I am thrilled to share that I found my H1 when I was cleaning out our car. I’d looked in this console container thing a few times, but I guess I didn’t look good enough. I’ve got it back! I’m so stoked. I’ve already used it for a podcast interview. It should serve HM Magazine well.
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