About this time of year, probably about five years ago, we had some family pictures taken. My wife had a friend with a photography business, and we set up a time at a picturesque area and met her there for an extended photo shoot.
The fall foliage was exploding with color, and we really did have a very nice backdrop. It was one of the first cold days of the season, but for the sake of the photos we tried to make it look like we weren’t cold. The kids were wrapped in blankets and coats while we set up shots, then they ditched them when it was time to take the pictures.
When I get cold, my fingers shrink a little as they try to avoid losing a lot of heat from my hands. The only way I really notice it is when my wedding ring starts sliding around on my finger more than normal. I have to check my ring more often and sometimes keep my knuckles bent so I don’t lose it.
We took lots of different shots that day, and as in any photo shoot, some of them didn’t work out. One of the later shots we took involved all of us throwing handfuls of fallen leaves up into the air. We tried it a couple of times to get all of our throws synched and a good effect for the leaves spreading out and falling, but it wasn’t working. By that time we were finished with that, we were all a little chilled and the novelty had worn off for at least one of the kiddos, so we weren’t super sad when it was a wrap.
I’m not sure when I realized it, but before we left, I noticed that I no longer had my wedding ring on. I checked my pants pockets and my jacket pockets, but there was nothing there. I told my wife and the photographer, and the only thing we could think of was that it slid off during the leaf-throwing scene. We went back and started looking around for it in the area where we had tossed the leaves.
I tried retracing my steps and simulating the motions I had done earlier, trying to narrow down where the ring may have gone. We still couldn’t find it, and we couldn’t drag the kids around much longer in the cold. From a practical standpoint, the ring wasn’t super valuable. It was even scratched up from doing all kinds of activities while wearing it. Obviously, we still wanted to find it. Sure, we could replace it, but that was an original ring from our wedding day. Eventually, we had to call off the search. Before we left, the photographer, who lived nearby, pledged to contact her neighbor, who had a metal detector.
We brought the kids home and got them fed and warmed up, and my wife received a text from her photographer friend saying she had acquired her neighbor’s metal detector. It was sitting on her front porch and I was free to come and use it to look for the ring. After lunch I headed back, grabbed the detector, and headed back to resume the search.
I had never used a metal detector before, but I followed the directions on it and started sweeping around the area. I still couldn’t find the ring, but I found some other weird metal stuff. At least I knew it was working. I covered the immediate area a few times over, trying different settings to try to pick up some kind of reading, but still nothing. Growing disheartened, I decided to widen the search area just a little bit more before giving up. Wouldn’t you know it, a faint reading showed up in an area farther away than where we’d been looking. Bending down for a closer look, there it was, lying on the ground among the leaves! I texted my wife right away to share the good news with her. God was gracious that day.
It reminds me of a series of parables Jesus tells in Luke chapter 15. The most famous of the three is the prodigal son, but there are two other parables earlier in the chapter. The first is about a man with 100 sheep that leaves 99 of them to go after the one that’s lost. Then the one that my lost ring reminded me of is in verses 8 to 10.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
Then verse 10 is my favorite part: Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
All three of these parables describe the joy in Heaven that explodes when a single sinner repents of their ways and turns to God. The last verse of the parable of the 100 sheep says I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Let’s not forget what we’re supposed to be focused on while we’re here on Earth. Eternity hangs in the balance, and it’s for good reason that angels rejoice over the conversions of sinners. Not only has that soul been spared an eternity of suffering, but it’s also an eternity of fellowship between God and a believer that’s been gained. While it’s the Holy Spirit that enables it to happen, He frequently invites Christians to be blessed by being a part of that momentous occasion. Be on the lookout for opportunities to help angels rejoice!
Thank you, Tim! An encouragement as usual!