Jesus is in the midst of addressing the Pharisees who have been critical of Him spending time with sinful people. He has shared a parable with them that likens the sinner to a lost sheep that causes the shepherd to rejoice when it is found. Now, Jesus shares a second parable with a similar message:

“What woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:8-10)

There are a lot of similarities between this parable and the previous one:

• Both feature someone with a collection of something (sheep or silver coins).
• In both, one member of the collection is lost and then is found, causing great rejoicing.
• In both, the found member is likened to a sinner repenting, causing joy among the angels of God.
• Both the shepherd and the woman represent the followers of Christ (the ministry and membership of the Church) who are used to locate the lost one and restore it to the fold.

There is one basic difference between this parable and the previous one. A silver coin cannot wander away on its own and get lost (as a sheep can). The only way that a coin can get lost is if someone is careless in some way and causes the coin to be lost. And since the parable states that it was the woman who lost the silver coin, it would appear that a second message within this parable would be how to move forward to recover a lost one when one or more of us (as church members) have contributed in some way to a person becoming lost from the church.

How can this situation arise? As followers of Christ, we certainly want everyone to be a part of the church. So, what kinds of things might we do (even unknowingly) that might cause someone to not be a part of the church? Here are a few examples:

Allowing Offenses to Remain Unresolved: Problems between people that are not resolved often result in one or both separating from the church. In Matthew 18, right after Jesus shared one version of the lost sheep parable, He outlined the “Law of Offense,” which provides a guideline for resolving offenses and keeping everybody together in the flock. See Matthew 18:15-17. Not following this can result in a lost coin.

Living Two Different Lives: People who are considering becoming part of the church are typically seeking to be part of a group of people who are doing their best to be sincere followers of Christ. If these seekers see church members acting one way in church and a totally different way (worldly) outside of church, that is a huge turnoff and will result in them moving on to seek sincere followers of Christ somewhere else. Another lost coin.

Being Unwilling to Spend Time with Sinners: This is, of course, the one that most applies to the situation that Jesus was in when He shared this parable. For us today — If a stranger walks into church who doesn’t know the Lord and who is obviously leading a sinful lifestyle, do we try to connect with that person or do we stay far away? While we all have a desire to fellowship with our brothers and sisters and loved ones in church, recognize that each person who comes and goes without connecting with the church represents another lost coin.

OK, so what do we do when a coin is lost? What’s the recovery process? Well, let’s look at what the woman in the parable did. She immediately began searching, even continuing into the night (with a candle lit) until she found the lost coin. She treated the situation with urgency and diligence, not giving up until the coin was found.

How can we apply this approach to the situations described above?

Well, in the case of an offense, it’s a no-brainer. When you know you’ve offended someone, immediate action is always the appropriate next step. If someone has left the church because of something you did, light the candle, go find the person, and do your best to get it resolved.

In other cases, where someone is perhaps considering the church and becomes a lost opportunity, there may not be the same opening to try to recover that particular person. If there is, act immediately before the opportunity is gone. But even if that person is not recoverable, use the episode as a learning experience. 

If you find yourself living two different lives, correct that immediately — live one life as a servant of God. 

If you’re not trying to connect with people who need the Lord, correct that immediately — you may be the person the Lord wants to use to bring someone to Christ.

The overriding message is to act with urgency and diligence. Whether it’s to find a specific “lost coin” or to change our behavior such that we can be better positioned to be used by God to find future lost coins, the appropriate action should be taken immediately. Let’s give the angels (and ourselves) more reason to rejoice by bringing lost coins into the storehouse of the Lord.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

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