parables

So yesterday Bern was talking about some old favourites in terms of parables and every time he's about to speak about something I feel like it'll be interesting. It's interesting because he's about to talk about something I've heard a million times and read a million times and it'll be a chance for me to revisit and re-appreciate it. There is a good chance that what he says isn't totally new to me but God reminds me that it's not about Bern, it's about him and me.

The first parable is directed to the men. Men should identify with this and that is the seeking with lost people. The interesting thing for me is that the second parable talks about a woman and seeking a coin. What's the difference between seeking the sheep and seeking the coin. One of those factoids that occurs to me is that the 10 coins fills a set, it's similar to a necklace. There are some thoughts around that, like it's part of a dowry or it's her life savings or whatever, but suffice to say, it's part of a whole. The interesting thing now is to look at what is necessary to be done. We need to find individuals to bring them into the fold but it's not just a matter of bringing people to church or to the presence of God, it's the completing work of God that is finding the coin to complete the set. It's both the restoration into sonship and the completing work of sanctification that is being addressed here. Jesus is appealing to both men and woman and interestingly enough men do something overarching while women deal with the details and completing. I think everyone has to be both but Jesus does make that distinction for a reason. You can look into it yourself.

The lines from the song, Nothing But The Blood of Jesus, come to mind.

"What can wash away my sin,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again
Nothing but the blood of Jesus"

This one verse sums both parables up. He deals with our sin and makes us whole. How wonderful :P