Investing for Eternity

Read 1 Timothy 6:17-19  

On October 25, 2019, a single bottle of 1926 Macallan single malt scotch whiskey sold at auction for $1.9 million, making it up to that point in time the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold. It was one of many bottles sold that day from one man’s whiskey collection that in total sold for close to $10 million. Obviously, the seller and the buyers were people of means and whiskey was one of their common treasures. Treasure can take many forms. Some treasures are universal like silver and gold, valued by most everyone, while others, like that high end whiskey are only treasured by a select few. If you have enough money you can buy most any treasure that you set your heart on. There is one treasure however that money cannot buy. One that you can’t store up for later use or buy more of from somebody else. We all have it, yet there never seems to be enough of it.  That treasure is time.  

In this world we have all been given a limited amount of time by our Creator along with the freedom to use it most any way we want. True, in the long run some may have more time than others, but tomorrow is promised to none of us. Anyone’s time can be “up” at any moment. As valuable as our time is we often squander much of it. Just as we are to be good stewards of the financial and material resources the Lord has blessed us with, we need to be good stewards of the time God has given us as well.  We can choose to spend our time pursuing material things and experiences that benefit only us. In moderation, there is nothing wrong with that. God intends for us to enjoy abundant life, yet if we’re to be “rich in good deeds,” we need to also make the choice of dying to ourselves and investing time in God’s Kingdom. Pleasing Him by generously loving and serving others—this is how we convert our time here to eternal treasure.

FOR REFLECTION:

• What does it look like for you to use your time generously for God’s Kingdom? 

by Chris Herlinger