Where’s that brown envelope I left on the kitchen table?” I asked my daughter. “On the dining room table,” she said. It wasn’t on that table, so I began a frantic search throughout the entire house— from the kitchen to the bedrooms—for the misplaced envelope. Even the trashcans weren’t spared from the scrutiny. What was the big fuss over a lost envelope? Inside were two $1,000 bills.

Many sermons have been preached about the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7) and the lost son (Luke 15:11-24). Being the shortest of the three stories, the lost coin is often overlooked.

A woman had lost one of her ten silver coins. She lit “a lamp and [swept] the entire house and [searched] carefully until she [found] it” (Luke 15:8). One silver coin (Greek drachma) is worth about 30 cents (US) today. Like the Roman denarius (Matthew 20:2), however, it was the equivalent of one day’s salary for a common laborer. The loss of a day of pay would certainly warrant a deliberate, extraneous, relentless search. So when the woman recovered her lost coin, she called all her friends and neighbors together for a party. The recovered coin had significant value, and now it had been found!

Most of us would sweat the loss of 8 or so hours’ pay. The woman in the parable did, for she knew the value of the coin. It was precious to her.

We’re of great value to God—more than we can imagine. He spares no effort in searching for those who are lost (Luke 15:8-10), and He takes great delight when He finds us (Luke 15:9). Recovering you and me is a source of great joy to Him (Luke 15:10)!

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Exodus 19:1-25