How Much Spiritual Risk Capital Are You Willing To Invest?
Good Morning Friends,
I am always looking for opportunities to nudge others to experience new ways to serve God. Sometimes I will prompt others to experience the multiplying effect of God’s love by giving a specific person a $20 bill with the contingency that they must give it away within the next week and tell me about the experience later. The whole exercise is very practical and most always includes the process of analyzing what has been blocking them from giving more. The hope is that in the process they discover a right thinking about priority spending. And as the stewardship season approaches this brings us to our question for the day: How Much Spiritual Risk Capital Are You Willing To Invest?
Scripture: A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 (NRSV)
“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30 (NRSV)
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober;
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (NRSV)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25–27 (NRSV)
Message: Today we look at a Parable of Jesus. Some gems for daily living about a good wife that I hope you link to an image of the ideal church. And a couple letters of Paul’s concerning the urgency of preparing for Jesus’ return and how Christ loves the church. Together they give us a 3-D picture of the importance of stewardship from the perspective of the Wisdom literature, the Gospels and the letters to churches. Let’s start with the Parable from Matthew. It is not as famous at the Parable of the Prodigal Son nor as tender as the Parable of the Lost Sheep or as comforting for truly helpless people as the one about Lazarus and the Rich Man, but it is I think one of the most practical ones Jesus ever told. It applies more to how we live our lives today and how God acts and reacts to us and how we act and react to Him with the joy we have been given. At the core of the Parable Jesus understood that we have a lot of hang-ups about money and emotions. So today we look at how to open the gifts we have been given. Here we hopefully realize the tragedy of never fully unpacking the gifts. Here we hopefully face the reality that we too often hide money as we hide our gifts instead of investing them in kingdom service. The $20 exercise in regifting is to make clear the fact that we are responsible for what we have been given to experience. Friends, throughout the scriptures Jesus challenges us to invest and reinvest in the Kingdom. He honors those who do but does not honor those who are afraid and bury their talents in the ground. If one is faithful, God entrust us with more. God always honors when we invest for the right reasons. Today learn the joy of reinvesting what He has invested in us. The Proverb I think makes it clear that if a man and wife do not have their home in order then they cannot take care of the church of God. Here the good wife like the good church deals honorably with all, and she has much pleasure in doing so, and shall rejoice in time to come; for she is free of anxiety and worry. She shall reflect upon it with comfort, when she comes to be old, that she was not idle or useless when she was young. In the day of death, as she is about to go home with the Lord, it will be a pleasure to her to think that she has lived to her prescribed godly good purpose. Here the imagery and symbolism of marriage can also be applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. We see the urgency of investing now in Paul’s letter to the church of Thessalonica. And in Paul’s letter to the Church of Ephesus we see Christ, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride. So too we are to love the church of Christ as we love ourselves and as a way of carrying out our purpose as followers of Jesus. We are called to be good stewards and to give as we would in marrage.
Pray for those who are afraid to share what they have been given. Pray we realize that Jesus is the Master of wise investments. Pray we realize we are His servants and can only lead from this position. Pray we realize He owns everything. Pray we realize we ultimately own nothing. Pray we realize we depend upon God. Pray we realize that if God was not generous and gracious we would not be able to live. Pray we realize there is an accounting. Pray we realize that if we have been blessed with five talent but only use three we have explaining to do as well. Pray we experience the abundant life. Pray we roll up our sleeves and get busy. Pray we realize that we all are supposed to be on the same team with the same goal: to build, provide for, and maintain a godly spiritual family! Pray we invest now in a marriage of love in a community of grace.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 