Today’s Devotional – The Parable of the Lost Coin

In Luke Chapter 15, we find three parables: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Son. They’re similar in that they each discuss something lost and then found, but there’s something else that ties them together, which is how they each focus on one person of the Godhead: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

Charles Spurgeon describes it by saying that the first parable [The Lost Sheep] illustrates the work of Christ through redemption, the second [The Lost Coin] is the work of the Holy Spirit through restoration of the soul, and finally, the last [The Lost Son] is the divine love of the Father receiving the lost.

Reading the chapter with that perspective in mind takes a layer off the top as we dig a little deeper into the saving grace of God.

These parables were in response to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who said, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

The order of them is important because the saving grace of God begins with our need for a Savior, something the Pharisees chose to ignore. And, once we accept the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit begins the work of sanctification within us preparing us for the glorious day we all go home to our Father.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:21-22, NIV)

“The Lost Coin” helps us to understand the work of The Holy Spirit by telling us a story about a woman who had ten silver coins, but lost one. The Bible says, “Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”

Looking at that parable, we find the woman doing three things:

1. Lighting a lamp – the conviction of the gospel
2. Sweeping her house – the removal of sin by repentance, confession, and walking in truth
3. Searching carefully – seeking God with all of your heart

Repentance doesn’t end with a sinner’s prayer. It opens the door to a new life in Christ. A life that is led by the light of the gospel, the conviction of the Holy Spirit with an ongoing removal of sin, and a continual search for God’s will.

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Tilling the Soil

Read the three parables found in Luke 15. See how God is personally speaking to you.

Planting Hope

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:21-22, NIV)

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