“Or 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? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8–10
A story made headlines: “Woman Desperate to Find Missing Engagement Ring Lost While Running NYC Half Marathon.” Isabel Lahn-Schroeder, a social worker at Lenox Hill Hospital, set a personal record running the NYC United Airlines Half Marathon, but her triumph quickly turned to heartbreak when she realized her engagement ring had gone missing along the route, likely somewhere around Central Park South.
The ring was no ordinary piece of jewelry. A family heirloom passed down through her fiancé’s family for generations, it featured multiple stones arranged in the shape of a flower, and it had been placed on her finger just the previous Halloween. Isabel retraced her steps, checked lost and found, and even visited the local police precinct—all to no avail. Hoping a good Samaritan might help, she put her story out to the public, imploring strangers to aid in reuniting her with something irreplaceable.
Sound familiar?
In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of a woman who loses one of her ten silver coins. Though she still has nine, she does not shrug and move on. She lights a lamp, sweeps the entire house, and searches carefully until she finds it. Her effort tells us that the coin was precious to her. Its value was not diminished by the nine she still held in her hand. And when she finally finds it, she cannot contain herself. She calls her friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!”
This parable, alongside the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son, was spoken directly to the Pharisees, who grumbled that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. (Luke 15:1–2) Jesus was not speaking about wandering believers. He was speaking about the spiritually lost—men and women who had never come to God—and the relentless love He has for every one of them. The coin had no power to find itself. It could not cry out, retrace its steps, or return on its own. The woman had to search for it.
This is the heart of God toward the lost: active, personal, and unrelenting. Every single soul is priceless to Him, regardless of where they are or how they got there. And when that one person repents and turns to Him, all of heaven erupts: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:7
Now, the third parable in Luke 15, the Prodigal Son, speaks to a different situation. The prodigal son had a father. He had a home. He walked away by his own choice, squandered everything, and ended up in a far country. But even there, the father never stopped watching for him. And the moment the son “came to himself” and turned toward home, his father ran to meet him. (Luke 15:20). That story speaks to the born again believer who has strayed. But it carries the same message of God’s relentless pursuit of humanity.
Whether the parable is about the lost coming to salvation, or the wandering child finding their way home, the heart of the Father is the same. He pursues us, welcomes us, and rejoices over us.
While God is the great Seeker, He also invites born again believers to join Him in that work. He uses His people as partners in this mission—to hold up the lamp, to pray, to share the Word, and to live out the fruit of His Spirit—so that the lost might hear the Gospel and come home, and so that those who have wandered might be restored. (Galatians 6:1)
Does the relentless love of God not fill our hearts with awe and wonder?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for being the God who never gives up—on the lost soul who has never known You, and on the wandering child who has strayed from You. Help us to join You in both missions: sharing the Gospel with those who are lost and restoring those who have gone astray. May we one day rejoice alongside You over the one who is found and the brother or sister who has been restored. In Your precious name we pray, Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.
