Jesus told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:16-21
Good Investments
Many people are concerned about making good investments. Some learn how to personally do it. Some decide to rely on knowledgeable consultants. Still others depend on the advice of trusted friends. Regardless of the way people make their investments, they want them to do well.
There is another side to the concept of making a good investment. That pertains to eternity. While earthly investments may become a preoccupation, one can never afford to ignore investing for eternity.
It is easy to put off the idea of planning for an eternal future. The common reason is there always seems to be more time. What stands in stark contrast is when the Lord suddenly says, "This very night your life will be demanded from you." What happens then?
Do I stand before the Lord and relate how well funded my 401k is? Do I tell him that my investment performance was above average? Do I mention how well diversified I am? Will this give me peace of mind when he calls me from this life to the next?
There is only one way to invest for eternity and Jesus offers it: "I need to be rich toward God." Rich toward God does not mean I have a long list of wonderful accomplishments to make me worthy of heaven. Nor does it mean I have been better than other people in this world. To be rich toward God actually means to not be in debt to God. This means the debt I have accumulated because of my sin needs to be covered. It means the deficit of good works I have through spiritual indifference needs to be paid off. It means the liability which demands my punishment needs to be satisfied. The only way my debt to God can be canceled is through the all-sufficient payment of my Savior Jesus Christ. “He became poor, so that through his poverty I might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). This is where I need to start and end when I consider a good investment for eternity.
Investments can perform well. They can also quickly evaporate. So it is important to make good investments for the future. The same can be said regarding my investment for eternity. When I try to do it on my own, the results will be disappointing. However, when I rely on the precious work of Jesus Christ, I know what the results will be. This is why I want to make a good investment and be rich toward God.
Prayer:
(Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal – 421):
Many spend their lives in fretting
Over trifles and in getting
Things that have no solid ground.
I shall strive to win a treasure
That will be bring me lasting pleasure
And that now is seldom found.
This devotion was selected from the Daily Devotion archive.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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