A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to share a Bible story with the kids that attend our church toddler group.

If you are a Christian mamma with toddlers, you will know that Jesus’ parables are popular amongst little ones.

Parables are stories that Jesus made up and shared with everyone and anyone that would listen. Though the stories were fiction, they would each contain a true message about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was trying to show people what God and heaven was truly like.

I was asked to share: “The Parable of the Lost Coin” found in Luke 15.

Here’s how it goes:

“[…] suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15: 8 – 10, NIV, my ellipses.

When Jesus first shared these stories, crowds would gather. People from all backgrounds would congregate and listen to what Jesus had to say.

Here’s the thing: Jesus knew who He was talking to.

He knew what images would come to mind when He told this parable to this initial ragtag group of people. He knew who was in the crowd, what they would think and what they were going through.

We need to bear that in mind when we are reading.

Even the first line of this parable would have struck different with those original listeners:

“[…] suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.

Luke 15:8, NIV.

When Jesus first shared this parable, women were marginalised. They had limited economic power compared to men.

The very thought of a woman with ten silver coins was mind-blowing.

How did this woman get ten silver coins in a day and age where women were massively dependent on men?

One silver coin was not like an English ten pence piece. This coin was most likely a drachma – a Greek silver coin, roughly equivalent to a Roman denarius – the standard daily wage of a laborer or a soldier at the time.

So this woman had ten days wages – might not seem unusual to us.

Except the likelihood is that she wasn’t a labourer or a soldier. It’s not like she could just work another day to replace the missing coin.

In our day and age an average day’s wage in England is just under £100. Now if I lost £100 – you bet I would search my house for it! But, for Jesus’ woman, this would have been mega money. Worth so much more than I could tell you in one blog.

This woman could have had this money as a dowry or bride price. That means, her family may have given her husband the money on agreement of their marriage. Maybe the woman was a widow, or had been divorced, and was now in possession of the money?

It may have been an inheritance of some sort. But, even inheritance money was usually gifted to men in those days.

On the off-chance this woman earned them herself, the woman would have worked her butt off in a way that you and I probably can’t understand or relate to.

Either way, we know that these coins were not easily replaceable.

Though women are often still marginalised in our world, it’s so hard for us to really grasp what these coins meant to this woman. Or what the people that first listened to this story thought.

What is the most valuable thing you have ever lost? It might be something attached to a memory of a person that has passed away. It might be a really expensive item that will take you years to recover.

Jesus knew that for a woman to lose a silver coin, it would have been a seriously anxiety-inducing moment.

And then we have the added problem of no electricity:

Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

Luke 15: 8, NIV.

In our dust-free houses, with our electricity and well-lit rooms, finding lost items can still be stressful.

But this woman had to light an oil lamp and scour a dusty house with no hoover and likely no windows. I would not fancy her chances. And I do not envy her task.

I love how the Bible talks of how she “carefully” searches. The English Standard version says she “diligently” searches. I can only imagine how careful she was, searching for such worth in such awkwardly lit circumstances.

Now, here is the bit that Jesus wants us to get: This woman FINDS the coin. She finds what she lost. She finds what she could not replace. She finds what will restore her situation. She finds what was buried in the dust and hidden by the dark.

Recently, I misplaced a pencil case, filled with face paints. 

My kids really wanted those face paints, to paint their faces, ahead of a World Cup football match.

So, I prayed.

I asked the Holy Spirit where those face paints were.

And a picture of a grey, IKEA box came to my mind’s eye.

Despite this picture, I looked elsewhere! I should have looked in every box I own, that resembled the one I pictured.

After much searching, my husband found the paints in a box that matched the description I had when I prayed.

God used this moment to speak to me and remind me that I could hear Him. I had a new-found gratefulness for Him.

When the woman in the parable finds her coin, she calls her friends and neighbours.

Can you imagine if you had £1000 and lost £100, with no way of earning any more money?

Wouldn’t you leap with joy if you found the £100?

This woman cannot contain her joy.

And when someone can’t contain joy: They tell others.

She calls together her friends and neighbours. That word “together” brings about images of a party, in my mind.

She wants people to share in her joy. She has found what was lost and she needs other people to know about it.

Then Jesus says this:

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Luke 15: 10, NIV.

Jesus compares the joy that this woman experiences to the joy that bursts forth in heaven when one person finds salvation in Christ.

When one person turns from their old ways and chooses to live for God – there is a party in heaven.

A supernatural, angel party.

Sounds bonkers, but it is true.

Do you remember that initial joy you felt, when you first made a decision to follow Jesus?

I don’t know about you, but I could not contain myself. I told every taxi driver about Jesus, rang every friend I had to let them know about my faith.

I knew that I had found healing for my heartbreak.

I knew that I had found peace for my anxiety.

I knew that I had found hope that would never ever fail; Not even in the darkest moments of life.

I had found what I had lost and I rejoiced in that.

Today, I feel like God is speaking to me about this woman:

1. The coin was for the women as well as the men.

People hearing this would recognise that salvation was for women, not just men.

And I have no idea how marvellous that news would have been for a bunch of women that were told they weren’t worthy of anything. The fact that they were worthy of the greatest gift – salvation – would have just been the very best, most incredible news.

I can’t put it into words what these women would have felt.

Life isn’t always easy for women in our day and age either. Yet salvation is gifted to all. There is no one – no matter your social and economic status, no matter your background, no matter what sin you have committed, no matter your gender, your race, your job status.

You could be in thousands of pounds of debt, you could have blown every penny and be working for such a grueling and degrading job. Yet, you are still worthy of receiving the greatest gift there ever was, and will be: Salvation through Christ Jesus.

2. Consider and search my life carefully and diligently.

When the woman loses the coin she searches for it.

Knowing that Jesus links the coin to salvation at the end of the story, we can come to the conclusion that we have to search carefully in order to find the light.

There is so much darkness about us, we have to be intentional about focusing on our saviour. Focusing on Jesus.

For those of us who feel totally lost, maybe we have no faith – It is a wise idea to be diligent and look for hope.

I have been getting lost in busyness recently. Running from one thing to the next, not daring to stop and re-organize my life.

All too easily I forget who I should be living for, who I should be working for and who I should be carefully considering: My Jesus.

3. Tell others together, rejoice.

We should share our joy with others. Some of us shy back from doing this. Me included.

This week,I have seen people that I have wanted to pray for… and I have missed my moment. Let nerves get the better of me.

Sometimes I forget I am carrying the very best thing – The gift of salvation is the best miracle I could ever be gifted. My fate is secure. I can share this joy with others. I have what they need. I have the answer to their problems: Jesus.

Are you sharing your joy with others?

Conclusion

The truth is that sometimes we miss the significance of the parable of the woman with the lost coins: Jesus is saying salvation is a gift worth finding.

It is a gift worth searching for so carefully.

A gift worth shouting about.

It is a gift for women as well as men.

A gift for the marginalized as well as those culturally celebrated.

Salvation is the greatest gift you could ever possess.

If you search for a fiver when you lose it, how much more should you search for this gift of eternal life? This gift of hope? This gift of peace when suffering comes; because it will come in this world, if it hasn’t already. 

You will need this gift more than you need any amount of money.

Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you. Grab a Bible and read it.

And if you have the gift of salvation; remember that others around you are desperately searching for it. Don’t forget you have it. Don’t lose sight of your joy. Instead, share it with others, wherever and whenever you can.