Restoring the "Imago Dei"; Luke 15:8-10

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 5/26/2024. Jesus tells a second parable about the joy of restoration. This time a woman loses a silver coin and diligently searches for it until she finds it. Just as in the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus subsequently applies the parable to the souls of the elect-- the very ones He came to seek, and to save, and to restore to their Master. We will find beautiful symbolism in the fall of the coin into the dust, the light lit to find it, the sweeping of the room, and the rejoicing of the angels of God once found. Furthermore, we will ask the question: "Restored to what?" Our answer will concentrate on the restoration to the "Imago Dei" or the "Image of God". We will analyze this deep subject and realize that in our fallen state humans still reflect the image of God, although horribly marred and tarnished by our sin. We will celebrate the Son who came to change all this, and the Spirit whose regenerative work in the soul and sanctifying work through the church, restores what was lost in the Fall to make relationship with the Father possible. For Jesus did not just come to atone for our sins, but to wrap us in His perfect righteousness, and thereby restore the "Imago Dei".