When I was 9, my mother turned the house upside down searching for a five-dollar bill. She removed the place mats on the kitchen table, and the clutter on the counters; she looked in every pocket and drawer and searched in the cushion cracks of the sofa. My mother went through the house meticulously, inspecting every corner and surface. I forget why she needed the five dollars, or why a different five-dollar bill wouldn’t suffice, but apparently the bill was earmarked for a specific purpose.

Jesus tells a story about a woman who sweeps her entire house looking for one small coin. The story is one of the small parables tucked in between two more popular stories. Even though the story is only 3 verses long, Jesus takes the time to describe the scene in detail: the woman lights a lamp, sweeps the entire house, and searches until she finds her coin.  The woman is focused on this one thing.

I don’t know about you, but at times I feel like no more than an ordinary coin; plain, simple, maybe even a little scratched up.  Other coins are shinier than I, and other bills hold more value. During these times of self-doubt, I wonder if God notices me. Does God ever see my scratched-up coin existence when I feel pushed off into a forgotten corner?

It can be easy to think that Jesus loves the shinier coins more than the scratched-up ones. It’s easy to believe that divine blessings are proportional to our perfection; the more spiritually enlightened we are, the greater the bestowal of define affection. But as much as the world tries to tell us that this is how things work, Jesus shows a different reality. Just think about the people that Jesus chose. Peter, the bumbling buffoon, acted impulsively and often said the wrong thing. The two “Sons of Thunder” sought to destroy a whole city when Jesus was refused entry (9:54).  Mary Magdalene had seven demons within her at one point in her life (Mark 16:9). All this proves that the followers of Jesus aren’t always the shiniest coins in the room.

Jesus’ love embraces us no matter how shiny or dull we may be. If the love of Jesus can transform the lives of the people who would betray him (i.e., Peter and Paul), then surely the love of Jesus blankets you and I. Because in the end, Christ’s love for us is rooted in his decision, not ours. It is secured by what he has done on the cross, not what we have done in the past.

Jesus is clear about the application of his story. God notices us. More importantly, our value isn’t based on external conditions. Shininess doesn’t determine our value before others, and it certainly doesn’t merit our acceptance before God. We belong to Jesus, and his love determine our worth. When we feel scratched up and tossed to the side, Christ’s loving care will always search us out.

But there is one more scene in Jesus’ story. When the woman finds her lost coin, she calls her friends and invites them to a party. “Rejoice with me,” she says, “For I had found the coin that I lost.” What I have always found intriguing about this story is that, in throwing this party, the woman spends her other coins to celebrate the one that was found! The woman never felt that the lost coin wasn’t worth her effort, nor did she ever feel that the found coin wasn’t worth a celebration. The point is this: God’s love for us isn’t rooted in what we earn, or produce, or the value that others bestow upon us. God rejoices because God delights in us.

Where do you feel the most scratched up, or the most plain?  Are there places where you feel that you have been swept to the side? When we feel forgotten, rejected, or divinely ignored, it can create an uneasy hollowness in our spiritual lives.  Jesus’ parable tells us that, even in those times, his love constantly reaches out to us. Like the woman in the story, every part of Jesus is focused on gathering us to himself. All care, devotion, and effort is directed toward that one thing, and he will not be deterred.

Our scratches never invalidate our worth. Our lostness never deters his desire. No matter what, he searches us out, meets us in the very place we lie, and rejoices. So let us accept his love, and discover the joy in being found.