Tuesday’s Devotion: Losing Things

Luke 15:8-9 “Or 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.’”

I have lost my pressure cooker.  How can one lose a pressure cooker in a medium sized kitchen?  I looked in every cabinet twice and even had Joe look.  The rocker is in the drawer but no pot. It’s not like a casserole dish you take to the covered dish dinner then forget to take home.  Last week Joe did leave a baking dish at church and it has disappeared, too.  In Israel, I lost one of my favorite gold hoop earrings.  Jesus told a parable about lost things to show that when we get lost from God, God will seek us and rejoice when we come back into the flock.  Deuteronomy 22 instructs us to help people who have lost things: “If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner.  If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back.  Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.  If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.”  Maybe we should help God look for lost sheep, too.  We can all rejoice when we find one and bring it into the flock.  In the meantime, where can I get a deal on a new pressure cooker?

Gracious Lord, how often we meet people who don’t know of your love and grace or people who have wandered off from their relationship with you.  If we ourselves have strayed, please draw us back to you.  Help us to seek the lost and to help those who are struggling with their faith.  We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.