Susan H

It seems that the woman was saved prior to the dinner and sought Jesus to openly show her thankfulness to Him. She was not invited to the dinner, she was an outcast, so she would not have heard Jesus' teachings there, but sometime before when He was teaching in public. Her open display of love and thanks to Him is an example of how we should all respond to His unending love for us. She gave Him all that she had...first, her own pride, and second, her most precious belongings. Whatever we have in this world has been granted to us by God. It is only right that we give it back to Him in our worship and in thanks for what He has done for us. My constant need for repentance and recognition of God's boundless love for someone like me draws me to a deeper desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. I want so desperately to have the same heart for the lost and to give all I have to that end. I am still learning and growing. My faith seems so small at times. But I seek to give "until it hurts" as a response to what Jesus gave for me.

God is persistent in filling heaven with those who love Him. He will not rest until all who will respond to the gospel are found and enter into eternity to worship Him. His joy in seeing the lost come into his "sheepfold" is openly expressed in these parables. As ones who are already saved, we are God's hands and feet to seek those who would belong to the kingdom. As the woman searched her home for the lost coin, and the shepherd sought his lost sheep, we are to go and find those in our community and in the world who will hear the words of salvation and respond with a resounding "YES!" Oh, that I would have the boldness and persistence to seek the lost as the shepherd and the woman sought after their lost. The Pharisees had no love for the lost. Their "love" was found in their own performance of the requirements of the Law. They had missed the point of the Law and were judges, condemning all those who would not or could not be as "perfect" as they. In their religious pride, they turned their backs on those who needed God the most and sought only like-minded men. In many ways, we are like the Pharisees. We cling to our comfort zone and turn our backs on those who differ from us. We must see the lost as God sees them...we must seek the lost as God seeks them...it is our calling as disciples. People all around us (family members, neighbors, church attendees, hungry, homeless, desperate) need to hear about God's love. We must be the woman's lamp, illuminating our surroundings to see the lost and bring them "home." We can't hide in our comfortable church and lifestyle and ignore the ones that truly need the gospel. As the woman and the shepherd stopped what they were doing in order to seek the lost, we must have a plan, make the time, and take the effort to seek and save the lost.