"WHEN THE LOST IS FOUND!"

LUKE 15:8-10

A man I will call Ted found a wallet on the street. Being an honest man he wanted to return it to its owner so he opened it to seek identification. In the wallet was only three dollars and a letter that looked as if it had been carried there for years. The only legible part of the writing on the envelope was the return address. In order to find more information, he opened the letter and to his astonishment it was dated 1924, nearly 60 years before. It was a "Dear John" letter to a Michael from someone named Hannah. She explained that though she loved him and would always love him, her parents had forbidden her to continue the relationship. This is a story of lost things. A lost wallet, a lost letter and a lost love. It is a story of sad separation and unfulfilled desire. It reminds me of the sadness our heavenly Father feels when someone is separated from His grace. It reminds me that He loves those who are separated from Him and desires their reconciliation. Jesus told the parable of the lost coin to illustrate God's quest for those who are lost from Him, and who are nonetheless dear to Him. Let's examine the parable for what we can learn.

• WE SEE A LOSS:
• The lost coin was clearly something of worth to the possessor, something missing, something that needed to be found.
• It represented a full day's wage for that time. The people were poor and finding the coin was sheer economic necessity.
• It was likely part of a head-dress made of 10 silver coins linked together chain-fashion. It was, for that culture, equivalent to our wedding ring.
• It represents all who are separated from God, alienated in rebellion, gone astray in sin.
• There are other instances in the Bible of something valuable being lost:
• Genesis 3:6-20 Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and were expelled from the Garden. They lost Paradise through rebellion and disobedience.
• Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus lost his integrity and reputation through greed and selfishness.
• 1 Timothy 1:20 Hymaneus and Alexander lost their faith because they rejected a good conscience and became blasphemers.
• 2 Timothy 4:10 Demas lost his relationship with Christ "having loved this present world."
• We, too, may lose something priceless. What a tragic thing it is to lose our
• Integrity and credibility.
• Innocence and purity.
• Sense of right and wrong.
• Direction and purpose.
• Trust and confidence.
• Joy and hope.
• Love and compassion.
• Our recognition and appreciation of the sacred and holy.
• Spiritual soundness and stability.
• Look around you and you will see a world that has lost those commodities, you will see a society lost and needing to be found.

God earnestly desires the salvation of those who are lost. Ted wanted to locate the owner of the lost wallet. He phoned directory assist to see if there was a number for the return address on the envelope. There was, he was told, but it was unlisted. He explained the situation and a supervisor was called who told him that she would phone the party and see if they wanted to talk to him. In a few minutes he was connected and when he asked if they knew a Michael or a Hannah, he was told that 30 years ago they had purchased their house from a family whose daughter was named Hannah. They said that Hannah had placed her mother in a nursing home. He phoned the nursing home and was told that the lady had died but gave him a number where he might locate Hannah. Calling that number he learned that Hannah was herself in a nursing home. He began to wonder why he was making such a big deal out of the lost wallet, but decided to keep looking until he ran into a dead end. The owner of the lost coin decided, too, to look until she found it. And that describes God's eagerness to seek and save the lost. Looking back at the parable, what more do we see?

• WE SEE A SEARCH:
• The woman had a sense of distress, of desire, of urgency. She wanted to find that lost coin. She lit a lamp to dispel the darkness, to illuminate the corners, and to sparkle on the silvery coin. She moved things out of the way and looked under and behind other things. She was in earnest about finding this coin.
• Many believe that the Bible is the record of man's quest for God; they think it is the history of man's spiritual quest for the Divine. That's just backward. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation reveals a father in quest of his lost child.
• God has always been the seeker. Man has fled, man has hidden out, man has wandered carelessly away, man has foolishly decided he doesn't need finding, man has resisted God's overtures. Man persists in the willful, futile flight from God -- but still God tirelessly seeks.
• Francis Thompson's poem, Hound of Heaven, captures some of this picture: "I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes I sped; and shot, precipitated, adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, from those strong Feet that followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase, and unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, majestic instancy, they beat -- and a Voice beat more insistant than the feet -- 'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.'"

The point of the poem is that though man is lost, and even flees, God seeks with perseverance. So did Ted. He tracked down Hannah and went to visit her at the nursing home. She was an alert, bright eyed lady with a warm smile on her face. He told her about finding the wallet and showing her the letter asked if she knew someone named Michael. She gasped as she recognized the letter. Tears filled her eyes as she told him that the letter was the last contact she had with Michael. She said that she had never married because she never met anyone she loved as much. Then she asked him if, when he found Michael, he would tell him she still loved him and thought of him every day. Ted thanked her and left. As he departed, an aide spoke to him, and then looked at the wallet Ted held in his hand. "Why, that's Mr. Goldstein's wallet. I'd know it anywhere. He's always losing it. Ted asked where he could find Mr. Goldstein and then quickly made his way to the eighth floor where he found a man reading a book. He showed the wallet to the old man and asked if it was his. When he was told it was, he admitted to having read the letter to seek identification of the owner. Mr. Goldstein asked, "You read it?" and then told him that his life nearly ended when he lost Hannah and that he had never married and had never stopped loving her. Then Ted said, "Mr. Goldstein, I think I know where Hannah is." Amid the flurry of the old man's questions Ted simply took him by the hand led him to the elevator and down to the third floor -- and to Hannah. They looked at one another in disbelief. Michael Goldstein walked slowly to Hannah, took her in his arms and the 60 year separation evaporated in the warmth of their love. But what else is there in the parable?

• WE SEE A FIND:
• The woman's search was fruitful. She found the lost coin!
• And
• When God called to Adam in the Garden, fashioned coverings for the couple, though they lost Paradise, the lost was found.
• When Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus and the tax gatherer repented of his sins, the lost was found.
• When the thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him in the kingdom, the lost was found.
• When Saul of Tarsus ceased persecuting and started preaching, the lost was found.
• It is a tragic thing when the lost is unrecovered. We hear of missing children regularly on the news. That always brings a note of sorrow to me and I pray that they will surely be found. And when one is found, alive, and is restored to loved ones, that is the good news.
• When anyone, at any point of life, turns from sin to the Savior, turns from self to Him, the lost is found.

About three weeks after Michael and Hannah were reunited, Ted got a call asking him to be their best man -- they were to be wed after years of separation. It must have been some sight, a 79 year old man and a 76 year old woman acting like teenagers. A perfect ending to a tragic separation. They had every reason to celebrate. Do did the woman who found her coin. So does all heaven when one person repents of sin and the lost is found. Look again at the parable.

• WE SEE A CELEBRATION:
• When she found it, her heart leapt into her throat and a sigh of relief sprang from her lips. "I have found it! He have found the coin! Yessssss!" (Well, maybe she didn't say that, but you can bet she was ecstatic!) The lost was found! All the neighbors were gathered to share in the joy of discovery. This is a symbol of the joy heaven knows when one lost sinner is found.
• There is joy in many of life's events:
• The marriage of a couple in Christ.
• The reuniting of friends who have been alienated by some disagreement.
• The healing of someone for whom we have long prayed.
• The triumph over some harmful lifestyle or destructive habit or addiction.
• The maturation and development of our children into upright and responsible citizens.
• But all of those pale in significance to the salvation of one soul. If the return of one lost one causes all the angels of God to stop what they are doing to cheer, we ought to make it a priority to lead someone, our children, our spouse, our parents, our best friends to the Savior.
• And when one is brought to Christ, for whom is there cause to celebrate?
• For that individual, because all the past with its sin, shame, guilt failure, remorse and regret has passed away.
• For those who love that individual because they have a new mother, father, brother, sister, friend. Old alienations, old enmities, old feuds, old relationships are gone and something new and fresh rises in their place.
• For all of heaven because Jesus says all the angels of God rejoice when one lost is found.

Maybe you, like the Michael or Hannah of the story, are separated from the One who loves you unconditionally and unceasingly. Maybe you, like them, are so near and yet so far. He has been seeking you. He has been calling you through the witness of a friend, through some Bible verse, through the Holy Spirit pointing out your need and drawing you to Jesus. You may have been separated from Him for years, but you will find that if you step into His presence in humble, penitent faith, He will receive and restore you. You may have lived a wasted, wanton life, lost to virtue, goodness, and God. But if you want to come to Him, there is no force on earth, in heaven or hell that will keep Him from taking you into His gracious embrace and welcoming you home. That's the grace of God that sent Jesus from heaven, to a hostile world, and finally to the cross. That's the grace that saves. That's the grace that is best described as amazing. Will you receive that grace? Will you, though perhaps lost as I speak, be one who is found?

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