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Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
(Luke 15:8-9)
Our Lord here emphasizes the painstaking care with which He seeks and saves that which is lost, and again teaches us what great value a single soul has in the eyes of God. If God, if Jesus, if the angels in heaven rejoice when sin-lost souls are saved by faith in their Redeemer and are made blessed heirs of heaven, ought we not rejoice when we read of the success of our Gospel missions among the heathen or the unchurched, or the outcasts in our big cities? There would be more love among us for the Savior's mission work if more of us would more diligently read our church papers that bring us news from our mission fields. Robert Maguire has some very fine verses on "The Lost Piece of Money" as mentioned in the Savior's parable, which we will read:
For this she lit the candle and the light,
And sought and searched in every darkened place;
For this she swept till, brought at last to sight,
Joy beamed upon the anxious widow's face.
Who have but little have the less to share;
And loss of aught is more than they can spare.
Like that lost coin, the soul by nature lies
In dark and dust, all-passive of its state;
Unsought, it cannot of itself arise;
Unfound, abides unconscious of its fate;
Such loss to lose, but, oh! such gain to find;
How great the love of Jesus and how kind!
His fold is but a "little flock," indeed;
His sheep are numbered, like the widow's gain;
One lost is missed, and must be sought in speed,
Till, found, He brings it to the fold again.
Rejoice with Me; that which was lost is found;
Like angel's joy, so let your joy abound!
Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Amen.
[devotion text by Rev. F. W. Herzberger (1920) -
from the Family Altar - CPH (1957 edition)]
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