April 30, 2018 – John 18
Jesus said, "My
kingdom is not of this world... Now my kingdom is from another place."
John 18:36
Make more of our
investments into saving souls instead of savings accounts.
Financial experts tell us to be diversified in our portfolio
as a wise investment strategy. The
advice makes sense, because the risk of losing our savings from a failure or
downturn is far less when the account is spread over short term & long term
options. It’s the financial method of
“not putting all our eggs in one basket”.
Somebody forgot to tell Jesus that. He had a much different approach. Instead, Jesus not only put his eggs in a
single basket, but all of the eggs for EVERYONE in it. Jesus didn’t bother keeping a diversified
savings account. He didn’t balance his
life over a number of opportunities. He
didn’t spread Himself across a variety of activities. Jesus bet everything on one item … the
cross. And Jesus lived out His entire
life with the goal of saving souls instead of building a savings account.
Now we may look at that and say: “Well, that’s Jesus. He didn’t give me that assignment.” Really?
Better check that again. Jesus
said: “You can’t love God and money.”
He told His followers: “Don’t
work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.” Jesus was the one who challenged us by
saying: “You must take up your cross and follow me.” Not only did Jesus bet the farm on the
cross, but He calls all of us to do the same.
Does that mean having a savings account is a sin? It depends.
If we’re building our own kingdom by saving for our pleasure, then it’s
time for some self-examination. If the
savings is to deal with typical expenses in the future, then it likely is not a
kingdom issue.
But the fact is, this generation listens more to the
financial experts of Wall Street than the Eternal Expert of the Streets of
Gold. We are still tempted to build our
own kingdom than support God’s Kingdom.
That’s why church giving continues to ebb down and more people are absent
from corporate worship. And forgive the
bluntness of this statement … but it’s also why we are seeing more and more
people heading to hell than heaven.
(Ouch)
Maybe it’s wise to back up a step and relook at our kingdom
focus again. Consider what kingdom we
are putting our focus on. Is it
primarily the kingdom of this world, or the Kingdom of Jesus? Take your time, rethink, and make sure we
are supporting the right Kingdom. Then
make adjustments to back that intention up with our time & our treasures.
One final thought: If you’re a believer, there are people
that chose to invest in the Kingdom for your benefit. Some may have known you, but it’s likely that
many did not. You are the benefactor of
their Kingdom investment. Choose to be
an investor for others to be benefactors too.
Invest in the Kingdom of Jesus more than the kingdom of your local bank. It will be an investment that pays eternal
dividends.
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