Day Two Hundred Seventy-Seven “Searching and Finding”
Does anyone know where they go? How is it that a harried housewife can have ten socks go into the dryer, and only nine survive the process? Is there a secret escape hatch inside that metal cylinder that serves as a time-travel portal to a parallel universe where socks find a respite from smelly feet? I thought perhaps that it was only my house where this mysterious phenomenon occurs, but after assisting my daughter-in-law with some laundry recently and finding myself with a lap full of single socks, I knew that it was a world-wide occurrence. After purchasing some new boot socks, I was determined NOT to lose any of them to the celestial Sock Haven, but eventually it happened, one gray sock flew the coop. Thus commenced a two-day search, my frustration building to a fever pitch. The sock finally reappeared…magically…with a sly grin on its face, or toe.
Socks are easily replaced, but the item lost in our parable today was much more valuable. In Judean culture, a betrothed bride’s dowry included a headdress consisting of at least ten silver coins sewn around a headband. I suppose we could liken the custom to the engagement ring gifted to the bride-to-be in our culture. But a female’s position in this eastern culture was diametrically opposed to ours. When the bride was presented to her betrothed, he was made aware of how many coins were on the headdress, he could see them. And those coins belonged to him, as did the bride, and the law did not allow his creditors to seize those personal coins for any reason. The coins could be changed into currency only if the groom approved the transaction. Woe to the unfortunate woman who lost one of those precious coins. Her husband could immediately be suspicious of her faithfulness. The laws of divorce were weighted so heavily against the woman that a case could be made against her even if only one coin were missing.
With that backdrop in mind, we can empathize with the woman in Luke, chapter 15, as she frantically searches for a lost piece of silver. She is not merely seeking a lost piece of metal, but for her home and security, her respectability, an honorable place in her society. Her anxiety is high, this is one of her most treasured possessions and it’s gone. I can only imagine my distress if I lost my engagement ring, not due to its monetary or social value, but the symbolism of the love my husband and I share. When the coin is found, she calls her “friends and her neighbours, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost.”
But the best part of the story follows, because that merriment resulting from the recovery of the lost coin mirrors the “joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” That’s me: lost, sought, found, saved!
Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
God, thank You for searching for me, finding me, drawing me to Yourself, and saving my soul.
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