Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. (Luke 16:10)
HER NAME IS CHRISTINE. She is among the top real estate agents in California. She owns an opulent home that features a bald eagle statue in the foyer and gold-tinted antique furniture. Most of her fortune, though, she gives away. She works with underprivileged children in her city and supports hundreds of overseas mission programs. On the weekends, she doesn’t lounge in her house. She piles neighborhood kids into her Lexus and takes them to church. Christine invests her life in people.
Jesus told an unusual tale in Luke 16. He lifted up a shrewd, back-handed businessman as an example. This sly man made friends and protected his investments. If the world is shrewd in looking after their affairs, then a Christian can be shrewd in handling eternal business. No material wealth will survive in heaven, so the challenge lies in recognizing what has eternal significance.
The business style of heaven is opposite of the world. The world says save; Jesus says give. The world says serve yourself; Jesus says serve others. The world says invest in your future; Jesus says care for those who can’t repay you. The “little” we’ve been given becomes “much” in the hands of God. God gives more resources to His servants who shrewdly invest in His work. The returns on this investment are eternal.
Choose to invest in God’s work.
Kathleen E. Dunlap lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and their dog, a Great Dane mix. She enjoys reading, crocheting, running, and journaling.
