This week, until 22 November, Kevin Mayhew Ltd are offering 10 per cent off No Ordinary Stories: Meditations and Worship Material on the Parables. With the book normally retailing at £19.99, that means a saving of £2.00 using the code STORIES10 when ordering the book from the company’s website. Just type the code into the relevant box at the online checkout between the dates given.
Meanwhile, here’s the last of the sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion.
THE LOST COIN
Reading
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 neighbours, 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
Meditation of an enquirer into the Christian faith
It’s true what he said, isn’t it?
You can just imagine that woman,
searching the house from top to bottom,
pulling back the furniture,
brushing away the cobwebs,
rummaging around in the nooks and crannies,
her frustration mounting all the while,
until at last, joy of joys, the coin is found!
I’ve been there myself, many a time –
the picture all too familiar –
and, yes, when you finally come up trumps
you can get carried away,
your sense of satisfaction out of all proportion
to what it was you were looking for.
Why do we do it?
Because no matter how trivial the sum involved
we know it’s worth something,
and we don’t like to see good money go to waste.
But can we really apply that to the way God feels about us?
I’d like to think so,
but I have my doubts,
for, much though I’d like to believe it,
are any of us worth that much,
enough for him to put himself out on our behalf,
spend time seeking us out,
and actually go so far as to rejoice when he finds us?
I find that hard to swallow, I’m afraid,
for, when I look at my life,
the fact is I feel pretty worthless sometimes,
so little there of value,
so much that is cheap and empty.
It’s not just the mistakes I make,
the evil I do,
the folly I’m guilty of,
though there’s enough of that and more.
No, it’s the good things, too:
my love,
my acts of kindness,
my rare attempts at service,
for even those are tainted,
more about myself than others,
my own kudos rather than their welfare.
Could God conceivably be bothered one way or the other
about our ultimate fate,
whether we accept or reject him,
love or loathe him?
Would he even consider wasting time on people like us?
It’s a staggering idea, isn’t it,
understandably hard to accept,
but that’s what Jesus is saying,
that each one of us is not just worth something,
but special,
precious in God’s sight,
important enough for him to go on looking for us
day after day until his search is finally rewarded.
I didn’t believe it,
and I’m not sure I do even now,
yet I’m beginning to wonder,
for, despite my doubts and questions,
my repeated rejection,
the way Jesus continues to reach out has set me thinking.
He hasn’t given up on me,
or anyone else, as far as I can see,
our lives really seeming to matter to him.
Maybe,
just maybe,
it could be true.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
it is wonderful enough that when we were lost
you came and found us;
it is more wonderful still that you continue to seek us out
when we go astray again,
that you go on looking for us,
day after day,
year after year,
for as long as it takes,
as often as it is needed.
No matter who we are or what we may have done,
still we matter to you,
enough for you never to rest until we are restored to your side.
Teach us to recognise the astonishing breadth of your love,
and to respond with gratitude
in faithful service and joyful praise.
In your name we pray.
Amen.