“Perfect love is pursuing your imperfect life to give you His abundant life.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 15, 2023
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? Luke 15:8
Eighteen years into our marriage, my wife Rita accidentally lost the diamond from her wedding ring. Somehow the gold prongs loosened, and her diamond dislodged. As a young man, I had saved up for an engagement ring and was so proud of the .28 carat diamond “rock” I purchased for my bride-to-be. The clarity, cut, and color all sparkled brilliantly when held up to a bright light. Two weeks after losing a sweet slice of our story, I walked through our front lawn and noticed a glimmer of light on a green blade of grass, reflecting off and on…like an SOS signal! I crawled on my hands and knees toward the light and found Rita’s diamond. Ecstatic, we did a little happy dance celebrating God’s blessing. We briefly lost a symbol of our love, but not our love.
Jesus tells the story of a lost coin and how we can grow distant from His loving presence. The woman represents the pursuit of the Holy Spirit for the lost. The lost could be an unsaved soul or a soul who has tasted the grace and forgiveness of God but has fallen away from the Lord’s love. Because she values her silver coins, she is intentional, quickly lights a lamp, and sweeps the entire house…carefully searching for her cherished possession. Such is God’s love for you, as the Spirit sweeps into your life to remove any obstacles between you and your intimate love with the Lord. You may be a tainted coin from hardships and the stain of sin, or you could be a shiny coin of an upright life but still need a humble heart that trusts in Jesus alone for your salvation. Perfect love is pursuing your imperfect life to give you abundant life.
“And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’” (Luke 15:9).
Are you lost and distant from the intimate love of God? If so, know that you are the Bride of Christ, whom He is in hot pursuit of. Lost in guilt, the Spirit is in search of you with generous forgiveness. Lost in feeling unworthy, the Spirit is in search of you with total acceptance and approval. Lost in sin, the Spirit is in search of you with grace and more grace. Lost and alone, the Spirit is in search of you with friendship, love, and adventure. A coin is not conscience, but a living soul is fully aware of the hot pursuit of holiness for your heart and mind. Be secure in God’s grasp once His love lifts you from the dusty floor of disobedience. Be found!
Joy comes from being possessed by the Spirit…led by His holy hand…held tight in the grip of His grace. Like a coin, you may be unable to do anything except “be”…who you are…shiny and pure, because of the cleansing power of Christ…a chosen child of the King of Kings. Be found by God…furthering His agenda of serving the poor, administering grace to hurting hearts, and clarifying truth for foggy minds. Heaven rejoices each time you are found by the Lord being like Jesus and loving like Jesus. Even when you feel lost…you are loved…ready for God’s rescue!
Charles Spurgeon punctuates how much you matter to God and to God’s children, “Dear friend, see what value is set upon you. You think nobody cares for you—why, heaven and earth care for you! You say, ‘I am as nothing, a castaway, and I am utterly worthless.’ No, you are not worthless to the Blessed Spirit, nor worthless to the church of God—she longs for you.”
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, draw me close to you by your pursuit of love for my life through Christ’s love, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
Consider a listening prayer routine of a half-day weekly, one day monthly, two days quarterly, and one week annually.
Related Reading
Genesis 3:9; Isaiah 65:1-3; Luke 19:10; John 3:16-18
Worship Resource
Neely: God You Loved
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