Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke’s gospel we read about a woman who had ten silver pieces, but lost one of it and also how she retrieved it (Luke 15:8,9). She took pains to search for it. In our lives also we lose something or other in various affairs and are in sorrows. When we lose something, we become worried and restless. In such situations of sorrow, we can retrieve so much through the Lord Jesus Christ. He can build our lives and renew it. Jesus Christ has the power to transform everything so that all old things pass away and everything becomes new. In this parable we are taught the way to retrieve things that are lost. Let us examine first what we have lost.
The relationship with the Lord God is essential for us all. It is our responsibility to see that we never lose it. How is your relationship with the Lord God? There are many who have lost it and are in peril. There are persons who have lost the relationship with their wives or husbands, or even that with children. But what is the reason for our breaking the relationship with the Lord? It is all because of our disobedience. Instead of enjoying the blessings of His promises, His words and His actions, we lose them all by our disobedience. We keep losing so many things as we know it from the Bible. As we fail to honour the relationship with Him and His word, and develop a love for the things of this world, we land in trouble. We lose the fellowship of the Lord. This happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve enjoyed the fellowship with God and walked with Him happily. But Eve disobeyed the commandment of God and ate the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave it to her husband as well. What is the reason for that? She disregarded the word of God. Her lust made her do that. She did not differentiate between the word of God and that of Satan. She preferred to obey Satan. She believed the words of Satan: “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:4-6). Satan taught her the very opposite of what the Lord God had told her. He lied as he is the father of lies. Most of the people do not know that the devil is a liar. Therefore they lose their lives and all their exaltation. What is the reason? As they do not heed to the words of the Lord but give room for their lusts, they lose their relationship with the Lord God. They lose blessings. Lust is the basis for their actions. As she saw the forbidden fruit, lust worked in her. Lust conceives and gives birth to sin. Many a time we do not know that. Lust results in pleasures of sins. The Bible warns us: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15, 16). Lust spoils the life of a person. We see several examples in the Bible. We read about David who was said to be a man after God’s own heart in 2 Samuel 11:1-3, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” It all began with the lust of the eyes which lead to the lust of the flesh. He executes sin and comes under curse. Thereby he loses his relationship with the Lord and His blessings. He became the cause for the name of the Lord to be profaned. James 1:15 says, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fullgrown, brings forth death.” Today, how are we in our life? If we give room for lusts, we will lose our relationship with the Lord. Rift appears with others as well. Separation from wife or husband results from this desire to live with someone else. Lust brings with it a train of sufferings. That is why Peter pleads: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” (1 Peter 2:11). We should be vigilant against such lusts which result in bitterness and anguish. It creates problems in relationships. Let us shun such a life. Let us revive the relationship with the Lord and maintain it. In many families, there is broken relationship between parents and children. The Lord is faithful to help you revive the broken relationship. Like the lost silver coin, you might have lost your relationship with the Lord. You might have lost the relationship with the servants of the Lord God. As you separate from them, there might have been several damages and sufferings. In the Bible, Lot kept himself with Abraham. What happened? They were blessed so much that they could not dwell together. There was trouble between their shepherds and they quarrelled. A stage came when they could not dwell together. Then Lot chose the region adjoining the Jordan as it was fertile and good for pasturing. It was his own decision. But he went to the wrong place. He lost his wife. He became the cause of the sinful life of his children and a wicked generation. He lost his fellowship with the Lord and His blessings too. Dear child of God, let us not lose our relationship with the Lord and His servants. Let us try to revive them and sustain them.
“Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.” Luke 15:15, 16
That was the state of the son of a rich man in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He was not even given the food of swine. His father was rich. But it was his own decision to separate from him. He was given to his lusts. The Bible says: “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment” (Proverbs 18:1). He decided to leave the father so that he might enjoy the freedom to live as he liked. He separated from his heavenly Father. He did not like his fellowship with his brother. He wanted to lead a life fulfilling his own wishes and desires. Dearly beloved in Christ, there are so many people who give room for division and separation. This son got his share of property and sold everything and converted it into money. He took it to a far off country away from his father and brother. This indicates a life of separation from the heavenly Father God. When there is distance between us and the Lord God, we would deny Him as did Peter. The Bible says, “But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.” (Matthew 26:58). “And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” (Matthew 26:73). But he denied any association or knowledge of Jesus Christ. He even began to swear and curse. The reason was that he followed Jesus Christ at a distance. Because he had been with Jesus Christ, he also spoke like Him. Dearly beloved in Christ, our life is just like that. Even though we are like Him, because we deny our knowledge of Him we lose all His blessings. Because this son of the rich man went away from his father, his life was in peril. The Bible warns us: “For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.” (Psalm 73:27). Yes, he was certainly given to harlotry. But later he repented of his sins, and went back to his father and was blessed. Today, you may have lost your health, peace or happiness. Once you might have enjoyed good health, but now you have lost it and are in sorrow. Beloved in Christ, the Lord is ready to restore what you have lost. He came to redeem the lost. He lives today. Dear child of God, He will restore all that you have lost because of your wrong decisions to separate from Him. Come back to Him with repentance. He will restore and gird you with the spirit of encouragement.
“And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.” Judges16:20.21
Here we read about Samson who had spiritual strength. He was a strong man. But everything left him. Why? Because the Lord left him. When he lost his strength, he was taken a prisoner. His eyes were pulled out. He was made to grind flour. It was a miserable situation. As he lost the blessings of the spiritual strength given by the Lord, his life became one of humiliation and tribulation. His life became miserable. What is the reason for losing all the strength of the Spirit of God? It was because he gave room for sin. “Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.” (Judges16:1). The spirit of harlotry began to work in him. It made him lose his way and calling. He did not stop there. “Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.” (Judges16:4). This was another relationship. She was a deceitful woman. The Bible cautions us against opening our mouth in the midst of close people, “Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom.” (Micah 7:5). Against this warning, he let her know the secret of his strength. She got money and let his enemies tonsure his hair. He was put to shame. Beloved in Christ, sinful deeds of harlotry make us lose greater and glorious things in our life. He was captivated to vile passions and degraded life. Today you need deliverance from such a degraded life. The Lord Jesus Christ is faithful to deliver you and to restore your lost dignity and honour in life.
“Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Genesis 16:13
Hagar had lost peace and happiness in life. Her mistress was torturing her so much that she fled from there. But the angel of the Lord met her and led her in a wonderful way. He also told her about the child that would be born to her and his future. She heard him and then called the Lord You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees. Her inner eyes had been opened. But we read in Gen. 21:15 she was highly upset in her life in the desert as there was no water for her. She lifted up her voice and wept thinking that the child was going to die. It was just her imagination that the child would die. Beloved in Christ, just like Hagar we are also troubled by several imagined things which are not going to happen. Instead of looking up to the presence of the Lord, we see the problem and lose the blessings set before us. We lose all the spiritual gifts of the Lord. Our inner eye that searches things is closed and we are tormented by imagined unfounded falsehood. The Lord again opened her eyes as said in Gen. 21:19, “Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.” Her eyes were opened to see a well of water. Thus the Lord quenched her thirst. Today we may have lost several things. But the Lord Jesus Christ would help you to get them back as He did in the case of the woman who searched for the lost silver coin.
“... light a lamp...” Luke 15:8
The lamp has to be lit up. The Lord does this in our lives. We cannot do it ourselves. He does it for us as it is said in Psalm 18:28: “For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.” Only when there is light around us, it is easy to identify things and move about without hindrance. The eye is said to be a light in our life. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matt. 6:23). If this eye which guides us is blinded, we are in the midst of darkness and we do not know when and where we would stumble. When the Lord opens it, the darkness in life is gone. As the lamp is lit, there is light. She searched for the lost coin in the light. For this light to be in our lives, we need to follow Jesus Christ. He said, “…I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12). We must commit to live in His light and follow Him. Then we would have the light of life in us and it would pave the way for us to retrieve all the lost blessings. It is said about Jesus Christ in the midst of people: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2). When He comes into your life, He would light it and would enlighten you in areas where you were stuck up. There would be no darkness in your boundary. Therefore it would be easy to identify where we go wrong and restore things lost. We would get back everything lost as the woman got back her lost coin.
“... sweep the house...” Luke 15:8
She cleaned the house by sweeping it. As there was dust and dirt, identifying the object would have been difficult. But when she cleaned it in the light of the lamp, the lost thing became visible. This emphasizes the need for cleansing and purifying us. We struggle in many things without holiness in the heart. Our heart which is the source of our thoughts has to be cleaned. We should be sanctified. It is written: “. . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). When we are so cleansed, we would have recourse to getting back what we have lost.
“...search carefully until she finds it? Luke 15:8
She took every effort and was wholehearted in the search for the lost. We should also not give up, but search for the lost with the whole heart. Then the Lord would restore all that is lost in life and bless it with happiness. Let us do it today. The Lord will help you to renew your life in Him and let us be blessed in Him. We would happily thank the Lord for the restoration with others.
May the Lord bless us so!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.