“And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.” Luke 19:10Our granddaughter emailed us that she had found buried treasure while she did a major spring cleaning of her bedroom. Cash given her from a previous birthday was discovered. She was excited at the find and promptly went out to buy a funky looking ukulele.
It was our seventh wedding anniversary. I’ll never forget it. We made a trip from the mission hospital in the rural area of Pakistan to the capital city. After we arrived at our destination I discovered the diamond was missing from my wedding ring. I can not describe the anguish I felt at that moment. Everything shut down. Where could that diamond possibly be? Where does one begin to search for a lost diamond? I couldn’t bear to look at the empty hole in my ring. How could one celebrate an anniversary with a lost diamond? On top of that I suddenly felt very weak and ill. In a couple of days I would be diagnosed with having hepatitis. Not a good day! My husband, seeing my anguish, began looking and looking. He searched the dusty van. No luck. Then he got a flashlight and began shining it all over the floor of the van. And there sitting in the dust, the light fell upon a tiny diamond sparkling under the direct ray of shining light. You can’t imagine my joy when he brought me the good news. The diamond was reset. It is badly chipped. But I don’t care. The diamond was lost and now was found.
I can identify with the story Jesus told of a woman who lost a coin from her wedding head band. She searched and swept everywhere and finally found the lost coin and everyone celebrated her joy with her. In the same way I feel like singing when a Muslim woman anywhere in the world finds Jesus Christ to be her living Savior. When I witness truth beginning to dawn I know she is well on the way into the Kingdom of God. Zahra is one such woman. She comes from a country where it isn’t possible to obtain a Bible except from the black market. There’s no church she can go to freely. She came to my country for only a six month visit. She was one determined woman to find out information that has been denied her. As we got together we would have intense spiritual conversations. It was as if I could see her sweeping the dust away frantically trying to find that lost coin or diamond. When something of great value has been lost to a person there can be a frantic search for it to be found or discovered. It's thrilling to witness someone’s spiritual journey!
Recently a young Muslim woman cried to me, "I'm lost! I've lost my way." There are many ‘lost diamonds’ all over the world waiting to have the Light shine upon them. They might be in London, Tehran, or Gaza. These ‘diamonds’ rightfully belong to be placed into the Royal Crown of their Savior, Jesus Christ. What joy there is in heaven and earth when the ‘lost diamonds’ are found!
The vision to reach Muslim women was birthed at Moody Bible Institute (click) and continues to this day. My reset diamond reminds daily of lost diamonds waiting to be found.
Dear heavenly Father, send me out to find Your ‘lost diamonds’. Help me to care for them even more than I do about the diamond in my wedding ring. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
