The Precious Penny

by David Kee
(Electra, Texas)

Pentecostal Church of God

The Precious Penny
Matthew 18:12-14,Jeremiah 1:5,1Peter 2:9
How many times have you walked past a penny on the ground and did not stop to pick it up? I have countless times not putting any value in the penny. And yet how many time have you been to a store and was a penny short? I know in most places there is a change cup usually there is a sign that reads. Take a penny, leave a penny.

I have also seen and done myself when someone is short on the amount pay the difference. You see this is what Jesus did for you and me. Jesus paid the difference! I praise the Lord that when others saw little to no value in me. Jesus saw great value in me. As a matter of fact, he left the 99. He also washed and cleansed me with His precious blood. He will pick you up as well just call out to him.

Jesus didn't just stop and bend over to pick this penny up he went way out of the way to get this penny. I praise God I was a penny he picked up. The world often times says that is just a penny it's not worth my time and effort. People often do not see the value in people and they do not want to put forth an effort to reach out to them. But God the Father sent his son to gather up the pennies. God does not look at the dirt, the tarnish, he sees the penny for what it can be not the way it is at the time he picked it up.

God loves us so much that he Jesus to pay the price for us. And it did not stop there. He also sent us a comforter The Holy Spirit. This is the value he put on you and me; though we were lost in sin he stopped to pick us up. I may have blemishes; I may even have a little bit of a tarnish. But after Jesus gets through with me I will be more precious than gold.
The thing is we do not see what treasure is hidden in someone until we get past the outer walls. Jesus sees our heart, when we repent and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior then God the father sees the blood of Jesus that washed us white as snow. There is a song by Gordon Mote called mercy walked in. When you have been washed in the blood you are made white as snow.

We may not understand how God forgives us or others. The fact is it's not necessary for us to understand how. What we need to do is just accept the fact that we can be and that we are forgiven. We need to be thankful that Jesus picked us up and dusted us off and set our feet on solid ground. And that his mercy is sufficient to the forgiveness of sin. I praise God that he saw value in this penny.