Investments and Returns

With spring in the air the fields around Blairmore House look stunning, as the farmers have prepared the ground and seeded it for this year’s produce. It’s interesting that one neighbouring farmer told me that February, when a lot of fields are usually still unploughed and frozen over, is actually his busiest month. He does a lot of work for other farmers with seed preparation. A wise farmer always plans ahead and understands the obvious: without adequate preparation there will be no harvest.

In our Christian lives, it’s imperative that we too sow into the future harvest. We absolutely must make investments if we’re to expect returns. Today I want to look very briefly at three areas we’re required to sink investments in.

First of all, we should invest in ourselves! We’re important, we matter, and we have immense value. Therefore, every bit of effort spent on improving ourselves is well spent. If we choose now to invest in growing spiritually, in learning and honing new skills, in gaining more wisdom and understanding, later in life these investments will pay off. What’s more, the more we develop ourselves the more we will have to give to others. This is worth pondering!

Secondly we should be investors in others. I wonder if you’ve ever heard of the following saying: ‘To get everything you want, help others get everything they want’. I don’t know whether or not you agree with this, but certainly you can agree to somewhat similar words of Jesus: ‘Give and it shall be given to you’. The Lord requires us to be on the lookout for others, and what better way is there than seeking to invest in someone else’s future? As we care for others the Lord promises to care for us.

Finally, it’s important that we invest in God’s Kingdom. ‘Thy kingdom come’ teaches us that God’s Kingdom ought to be our primary concern in life. Jesus guaranteed that when we do so, we’re gaining treasures in heaven, which no one can ever take away from us. If we can learn anything from the current economic instability, surely it’s that all worldly treasures are transient at best. Right now is a great time to start making the most stable as well as rewarding investments of all. God is no man’s debtor and He will never go bankrupt. His promises stand!

Today I would urge you to consider your ways and to evaluate what you’re investing in the future and how you’re doing it. God, in His kindness, has written down some very sound advice in His Word. May He help us heed it!

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the times when I’ve been slothful. Please help me to start investing more wholeheartedly in Your Kingdom, in others and also in myself. Thank You for Your rock-solid promises that one day I’ll get a reward! In Jesus’ name, Amen.