Centuries ago, people invested in shipping companies. These ships brought tea, sugar, spices, cloth and other items from across the seas. There were no means of communication with the ship. As a result, if the ship was delayed or destroyed by storms, investors found themselves standing on the dock, peering into the sunset. They showed up there for days, weeks and months, waiting for their investment, their ship, to come in. Then and only then, would they realize a return on their investment.
In order to gain something of true value, we have to invest something. Whether it is our time or our money, don’t we have to sacrifice something to receive something back? There is a mind-set in this country that we can get “free” things by doing nothing. It is generally temporary. It does not increase in value. Oftentimes, it loses its value by ingratitude. Nothing sacrificed, nothing gained. You have put forth no effort, no investment of any sort. How shallow a return it brings. We cannot appreciate the good that comes from investing in a dream or hope for the future, if we have nothing to do with empowering it. No sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears. It is meaningless in the end.
Being a believer in Christ is an investment of sorts. I do not diminish the significance and holiness of believing in the Lamb of God. Simply, I am struck by how similar it is to the centuries ago method, of “waiting for your ship to come in.”
If we spend our whole life as a non-believer. If we think and profess that this business about Jesus and eternal life is all unfounded and not worth our time or investment. We have naught. No investment, no return. When the ship of death comes into the pier, there will be nothing on it. No return for the years spent in denial.
The instant we realize sin is in our life and needs correction. That is when the relationship commences. The moment we accept Christ as our Savior, we start investing in the ship of eternal life. We cannot work for it. Works is not the means to salvation, lest any should boast. It is an independent decision in our heart that Jesus died for our personal sins, not the neighbor’s sins. Not that person in the spotlight, but for me, personally. His eye is focused on me. His attention is entirely on me. What am I going to do with Him? That is the question each person must resolve.
The second we accept Christ, we have invested our belief, our heart, and our soul into a ministry that our love, worship and praise of Him will return to us. It is our investment, in things that we cannot see directly. The belief that everything scripture says about Him is truth, will bring our ship in one day. There is no doubt about it. We will suffer storms. We will face disease and health events. We will stand in cemeteries. We will experience delays in our life. We will make wrong choices and derail our life. There will be times that we feel as though our communication with the Captain has been lost or curtailed. But that connection is never entirely severed. It is we who stop communicating with Him, not the other way around. We will arrive to the end of the journey. Then is when we will realize the blessing and return of following Jesus.
Believing in Christ, reading and taking to heart, God’s word; telling others about your experience. Telling about the miracles of answered prayers. The death beds where peace came in the midst of tremendous sorrow and grief. The recognition that investing their hearts in Jesus was returned to our loved ones as they walked across to eternal life, to renewed youthfulness. Wellness returning to very sick and ravaged bodies. The belief that because Christ brought Lazarus from the tomb of death and then rose Himself from the tomb, that our loved ones and all who come to the saving grace of Jesus, will do likewise; is an investment we cannot afford to squander. God doesn’t give free stuff. He requires obedience to His word. He expects an investment of belief. He expects to see our faith in Him working out each day in the way we live. Treat others the way we want to be treated. Focus on perfecting the love we give. We may be called to sacrifice friends, family and peace, because of our belief. God wants His children to give ourselves and our time, to the promotion of Christ.
There is a question we must ask ourselves. Has our ship of eternal life set sail? Have we invested in its success? When it arrives at its final destination, will we realize our investment? Will we debark on the shores of heaven, greeted by a multitude of believers who came before us? Did we invest our belief in the things of God and Christ that we cannot see? Things that we believe, in faith, to be true?
I have a question for you. If it is all a fantasy, then living a life, striving to be obedient to God and serving others with love, living the best life possible, will end at death. You have what you lived. But! If it is true, and I believe with all my heart it is; and we have not invested in Jesus and redemption from our sinful nature, we have lost more than we can imagine; for all of eternity. Is it worth gambling a game of roulette, with our eternal destiny?
~Scripture For Today~
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NASB)
Ephesians 2:8-9
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (NASB)
Matthew 6:19-21
19Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NASB)
~Prayer For Today~
Hello Father! We need help to shut out the chatter of a world of unbelief. We recognize that You are the anchor. You and You alone will bring us to the secure harbor of eternal life. We pray for courage to keep marching, keep believing in what we cannot envision. Keep professing Christ as our Savior. This world and all its trappings are temporal. We pray for wise investment in those things unseen, that last through eternity. Forgive us of our sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
©2016 Kathy Ledbetter. All Rights Reserved.