Making Investments That Last Forever
Good Morning Friends,
Warren Buffet bought See’s Candy from Lucy Ricardo in 1972 for $25 million. Ray Kroc bought McDonald’s in 1961 for $2.7 million. Benchmark Capital bought eBay in 1995 for $6.7 million. Henry Flagler purchased Standard Oil in 1867 for $100,000. Howard Hughes bought control of TWA in 1940 for $7 million. Peter Thiel invested $500,000 in Facebook in 2005. Asa Candler invested $2,300 to buy Coca-Cola in 1891. John Gray invested $10,500 in Ford Motor Co. in 1903. All these people made a lot of money but when they die all of it is left behind. Truthfully though the return on investment for those who venture to give to Kingdom work puts to shame the returns of these amazing worldly investments…I do not want to minimize the positive effect of commerce and careers and saving and business deals, but the treasure of the future in Holy History is in Making Investments That Last Forever.
Scripture: Scripture:11Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back. 2 Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth. 3 When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. 4 Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap. 5Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 (NRSV)
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NRSV)
35In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ‘
Acts 20:35 (NRSV)
27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.
Matthew 25:27 (NRSV)
Message: I hope you see that with Jesus and the big picture, giving is an investment in something eternal. Here compassion prompts His investment in others. Here we discover that God’ provision is high-yield so the investment He requires seems high-risk.
God’s economic plan helps us grow beyond just responding to the heart of a specific need or appeal and understand that we are to give to God… not to only a need. If we understand that God owns all the wealth of the world and that we could not live for even a moment if He did not provide for our care, then we also might discover that God intends His wealth to be circulated around. He does not want us to trap the energy but to release it for His purposes…spread it around in a way that multiplies the return. Here we are each stewards of God’s wealth and we can be good or bad stewards…investing wisely or hoarding the wealth we have been provided…and like the story of the talents…there will be a day of accounting. Here in God’s economic plan we learn that we appropriate more of God’s wealth when we give… we reap what we sow….we invest in God because he knows the needs of everyone…even our need to be joyous givers. Friends, if we seek contentment, it is assured we will not find it in worldly investments. They do not produce the desired return. But we might discover that to better serve, we should seek a return on investments found when we love God and our neighbor as ourselves. This brings relationships and the joy of imagining a world where our investments last. You see, God has called us to be productive with the potential we have. We are not to waste our time digging holes. We as individuals and also as a collective body of believers are to be focused on the return for the Master. Now is the time to bring honor to the Master. Now is the time to overcome the fear of failure in our lives. Now is the time to produce a harvest of faith. When we invest our talents God will honor them. When we invest our love it will be returned and magnified through the love of Jesus with a return on investment that will last eternally.
Pray we are empowered by the indwelling Christ to make faithful decisions that lead to positive returns. Pray we are faithful to those who trust us. Pray we are not afraid. Pray we be a parable of potential realized. Pray with praise when we are accountable to our potentials. Pray we produce a return for the Master. Pray we use what God has given us. Pray we learn the joy of reinvesting what he has invested in us. Pray that we be good stewards of the resources we have been provided. Pray we want to give to the Lord not because it is the law or that we ought to out of obligation but because we want to for the grace in carries out to others lives and the joy it brings into ours. Pray we realize that God is the owner of everything and ensures for us a treasure in heaven. Pray that we learn to make the right investments, honoring holiness, loyalty and obedience. Pray that we trust in Him. Pray that we store up treasure in heaven taking hold of true life, being rich in good works. Pray that we have a desire to invest ourselves in the lives of others so that we might all experience the joy of Him being magnified in us for His purposes.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 