Investing in Eternity

Every culture has proverbs or wisdom sayings that express commonly held beliefs. These kernels of wisdom are generally passed down from generation to generation and become part of a society's oral tradition.

In the English language, we have popular sayings like "practice makes perfect, or an apple a day keeps the doctor away," among many others. In our study of Ecclesiastes, Solomon interjects a number of these proverbial sayings that are foreign to us like, "Cast your bread on the surface of the water, for you will find it after many days." This is something that Solomon's father, David, probably said to him, but it sure seems strange to us. It wasn't until I discovered that another way to express this statement was, "Send out your grains in ships..." and then it clicked. We know from Scripture that Solomon was involved in various kinds of trade, so this would be something he was familiar with. He would send out ships of grain, and it would be months or even years before the ships returned, but when they did, they would have precious cargo. 

Solomon is teaching us that when we are prepared to take whatever it is God has entrusted to us, our time, resources, talents, and gifts, and invest them into His kingdom, it is never wasted. 

Those of you who faithfully share the gospel, teach a Sunday school class, serve in AWANA, lead Bible studies, faithfully pray, give, and disciple don't always see the immediate results, and it's easy to start wondering whether it's worth it. You may ask, "Am I really making a difference, or just expending a whole lot of time and effort?" There are other times when we do catch a glimpse of what God is doing and how He has used something we've done to impact a life. 

The point is this: God wants you to keep investing in His work and let Him worry about the results. He is faithful to His promises. Paul wrote, "Knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58). The reality is, you and I have no idea all that God is doing in and through our lives. We may never know the lives we have touched, but God does so refuse to give up! Each one of you has been uniquely created by a Sovereign God for a special purpose to use in the body of Christ. 

Press On,

Pastor Brian Richard