Down and Out?

The woman sat at the bar, holding several bonus 1,000 chip pieces for the poker tournament after buying a drink. Then one slipped out of her hand -- falling on the bartender's side of the counter.

"I dropped it there," the woman told the server. Trouble is, it fell in a corner which was blocked by two giant metal freezer units. The server couldn't simply reach down to pluck the chip out -- and she wasn't strong enough to pull out the freezer units on her own.

"I think we'll chalk this up as a loss," the woman said -- and the server was kind enough to give her a substitute poker chip. (For all we know, that 1,000-chip piece still may be sitting in hiding on the barroom floor.)

When we saw this incident the other night, a parable of Jesus came to mind:

Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!" - Luke 15:8-9 (NASB)

Now there's a woman who's concerned about her money. And if the woman at the bar only had that one lost chip at her disposal for the poker tournament, she probably would have been every bit as concerned about getting it back. So what's the point?

In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. -- Luke 15:10

Jesus wants sinners to accept Him, turn from their sins and follow Him. He may well be looking for you -- especially if you've wandered to "do your own thing," for whatever reason comes to mind.

You could hide in the darkness. Or you could allow the "light of the world" to bring you back to someplace (or Someone) better. Will you allow Jesus to sweep you back into His fold?