Protecting God’s investment
by John Berry
I was walking along a road near to Ellel Blairmore House in Scotland when I noticed a small wood on the side of a hill which was surrounded by high metal fencing. The fields either side were occupied by grazing sheep and I could see no sign of burglars approaching! The reason for the high fence was that there are wild deer in the area and they can jump normal fences. I wondered why this wood needed protecting as the trees were young and not very big or in ordered rows. I realised that the young shoots on the trees which were just appearing at the end of the January Scottish winter were very attractive to the deer who love to feed on such tasty vegetation.
I was reminded of the verse in our text for today. The owner of the field was protecting his investment with fencing, but in the light of eternity it had no lasting value. The time would come when the fence would rust, the trees fall down and the owner himself would depart this world.
God has invested heavily into our lives.
I wonder how much effort we put into protecting the lasting treasure that God has given to us – the blessings of restoration into His family, the cleansing of the forgiveness of our sins, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, to name but a few. Do we take our salvation for granted when we have been believers for a while? Do we neglect the cost of forgiveness when we deliberately go against God’s Word? Do we put down our brothers and sisters instead of encouraging them in their work for Jesus? How much do we value our inheritance in Christ? In 1 Timothy 6:20 Paul urges Timothy to guard what has been entrusted to his care, and we must do likewise.
We are reminded in 1 Peter 5 that the enemy prowls around seeking to devour, so we do need to be on guard. Fences won’t keep him out, but godly living, prayer, worship and applying God’s word is very effective! So let’s protect God’s investment in us.
Prayer: Father God, we thank You for putting so much into our lives by your grace and love. Help us by Your Spirit to guard the investment You`ve made in us as we seek to live holy and obedient lives for Your glory. Amen.
John Berry entered the Baptist Ministry more than 40 years ago, and joined the Team at Ellel Glyndley Manor in 2007 with his wife Jennie. They have both now retired from the team but remain as part of the Teaching and Associate Ministry Teams at Glyndley. John and Jennie have seven Grandchildren.
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