The Coin Was Lost Within The House

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parables of three losses. You may be familiar with them even if you don’t call them by that name. First, there was the lost sheep. And then, there was the lost coin. Lastly, He told of the lost son, which you may know as the prodigal son. In this post, our focus is on the lost coin because the coin was lost within the house.

These three parables are all familiar stories and no doubt you know of several sermons on them. Each message has a different interpretation and a different area of emphasis. This time, we emphasize that the coin was lost within the house.

Unlike The Sheep, The Coin Was Lost Within The House.

While the lost son traveled out of town for its own loss to occur, the coin was lost within the house. And while the sheep went missing out in the field, the coin was lost within the house. This coin remained in the house but the owner could not locate it. As far as she knew, the coin was as good as lost.

And unlike the lost sheep where the owner can solicit help finding his sheep, this scenario is quite different. This owner is alone, left to search single-handedly for her lost coin. “What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?” Luke 15:8.

You may very well wonder what the loss of a coin has to do with you. A lot! Particularly if you are the church-going type. A man sits in the pew within the ‘house of God’. He is no longer within the purview of an evangelist or a crusading effort.

Everybody assumes just because he is within the house of God, he is already ‘saved’. Consequently, nobody bothers him. They do not preach salvation to him. Why bother? He is already in the fold.

Meanwhile, God is unable to locate him. He lights a lamp, scans the register of the church of the firstborn in heaven and comes up empty. This man is like the coin that was lost within the house.

The Coin Was Lost Within The House, More’s The Pity.

The man is active in the church. He looks around and becomes self-satisfied to be within the house. If anyone should suggest that he is lost, he will argue vehemently, even angrily. The coin too sees itself within the house. It does not realize that it is missing. Just because the coin was lost within the house, it assumed that everything was fine.

A person can be active in a church and still be missing from the real church of God. The bible refers to that assembly as the general assembly and church of the firstborn. The real pity is that he may not even be aware that he is lost, just because he is sitting within the house. Like such a man, the coin was lost within the house.

Similarly, carnal men are sitting comfortably in church, glad that they are within the house. They might even be busily disdaining those who are un-churched. Such Christians have never left the confines of organized religion and assume that they are doing well. That God is pleased with them.

Little do they know that God will one day say to them, depart from me, I know you not. “But God, we did this and that and the other,” they will say. But it will not suffice to get them through the door. That is unless God finds them. Otherwise, they remain like the coin. The coin was lost within the house, more’s the pity!

Consider The Tares And The Wheat

Unfortunately, the man in the church who thinks himself safe may only discover otherwise at the end. It is only then that the sad truth becomes obvious. That, just because his name is on a church register on earth does not mean that his name is on the heavenly register.

It is like the parable of the tares and the wheat. These two grains lived and grew in the same space. One can compare it to sitting on the same pew in the church. But one was destined for fire and the other for God’s Presence. However, it had no way of knowing its final destination until it was too late.

In the same way, if the woman had failed to locate her coin, it too was doomed to destruction. For the item to enjoy its owner’s presence and joy, the owner had to find it. For us to enjoy God’s presence now and in eternity, God has to find us.

Fortunately for us, God is not happy that any should perish. That is why each of the three parables ends with a finding. The shepherd found his sheep; the woman located her coin and the lost son came back home. Consequently, we conclude that even for the carnal man in the church, there can be a finding. The coin was lost within the house but its owner found it.

The Preferred Outcome for the Lost Coin

Therefore, once we get over our anger at this suggestion, we should strive for Jesus to find us. Don’t let the anger remain even as we reiterate this critical lesson. The coin was lost within the house. Similarly, a church-going man may be lost within the church. Take a deep breath and get over it. Because your story does not have to end with a loss.

The coin did not remain lost and you do not have to remain lost from God’s register. Like the woman, God’s Holy Spirit is lighting His lamp to look for you. He is searching and scanning for every lost soul. Even the religious ones within the church are not exempt. If they were, you would never have come across this and similar teachings.

Like the woman whose coin was lost, the Holy Spirit is sweeping. Sweeping away all faulty doctrines. Yield to Him. Allow Him to do what needs to be done to finalize your adoption into God’s family. Then and only then will God include you in His register. The bible refers to it as the register of the firstborn because Jesus is God’s firstborn.

Consequently, the only way to get on that register is to ensure that you are related to Jesus, the firstborn. Sitting in a church; even being active in a church, does not cut it. Don’t allow your umbrage to keep God from finding you. The coin was lost within the house. Ensure that you are not like it. Let Jesus find you for God today.

Maranatha!