A wholehearted search

Jesus told a parable about a woman who had ten silver coins. One day she noticed that she had lost one. This coin was valuable and therefore the woman lit a lamp, swept the entire house and searched every corner of the house, until she found it. This, said Jesus, is how the Father rejoices over one lost sinner who repents (Luke 15: 8-10). Coins have no awareness of how valuable they are, nor do they know that they are lost. However, they are precious and of great value to the owner. The parable teaches that the Lord conducts a thorough search for His people who may be lost, but may not even realise it. How does it work the other way around? Sometimes, people drift away from God and do not even recognise that this has happened. It may take something like exile, as was the case for the people of Judah, for them to realise that they are lost. The Lord sent His people a message in a letter telling them to call Him because He was listening out for their cries for help. The Lord also told His people to look for Him. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord,” (Jeremiah 29: 13-14). The message to the people of Judah in exile is the same one for kingdom citizens today. Like the woman with the ten silver coins, you may recognise that you have lost Someone of immeasurable value. How do you conduct your search? How seriously do you take the process? Jesus said that the woman who had lost the coin lit a lamp and swept her house. She did not leave any part of the house out of the meticulous search. Do you need to shed the light of the Word wherever you are, as you search for God? When the Lord spoke to His people, He said that they should seek Him with all their heart. This means that there is no room for an I cannot be bothered approach in the life of a believer. Kingdom citizens who mean business will search diligently for God because their lives depend on the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And they will find Him.