22 September | Youth
«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?» Luke 15:8
On that Friday, William left home with the intention of paying the month’s rent. He hurriedly went down the stairs of the station, got on the subway, put on his headphones and, listening to his favorite music, headed towards his destination. Suddenly, someone stopped his walk: “Sir, be careful. Your money is fall-ing out!” When he looked at his fanny pack, he found it half open. Terrified, he realized that much of the money had simply disappeared! What now?
Have you ever lost something of value? How did you feel? It’s terrible, isn’t it? If you also have a feeling that you won’t be able to recover the lost item, it can be discouraging. I imagine a shepherd worried about his missing sheep. I think of the woman in the parable, distressed because of the disappearance of her coin. I imagine the father of the prodigal son sad to see him leave without a return date. I imagine Jacob’s despair when he received the news that Joseph would not return home. I imagine the sadness in God’s heart when he sees us distant or distancing ourselves from Him. That’s why Jesus came: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), in other words, He came so that we could find our way back.
On that sad Friday in Madrid, a desolated William called his wife and told her about the lost money. She went to the subway station and there an employee told her that two boys had found “money without an owner” on the boarding platform: several bills of 20 and 50 euro.
Someone had dropped them. The employee gave her their phone numbers. She got in touch with both of them, and William got back every penny of his rent money. An unexpected, happy ending.
God lost His most precious asset: His children. He wants us back and will do everything possible to make that happen. This is the happy ending expected by the Father. A coin is unaware that it is lost, a lost sheep does not know how to return to its fold alone, but a repentant son knows the way back home. If you are close, enjoy the company of Jesus. If you are far away, come back. Is this your heart’s desire today?