Kingdom Investments and the Cause of Christ

Serving others with the resources God has given us is at the heart of a 'true' response to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus pretty much tells us that he can read the story of our heart by seeing the actions of our hands. The more I read the Gospels, the more I see clearly how close to Jesus' mission this single reality stands. You and I, as Christians, are in the most unique position of all of humankind. We are in a position to share the generosity with others that God has so amazingly dumped (in bucketfuls) out on us!

Now as far as I can tell, the resources God has given us fall into three major categories; our time, talents and treasure. Our time, of course, represents that allotment of life we are given here on this earth as measured through the seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years we get from God. We all have 24 hours in a day and we are all faced with the choice, sometimes minute by minute, of what we will do with those hours.

Our talents represent a combination of our passions, skills, loves, desires and spiritual gifts. Maybe a better way to say it is that a talent is the resource of our 'skillfulness' that we can use for Christ or for ourselves. We also are faced with daily choices of how we will use these talents that Christ has given us. Will they be used in the service of His Kingdom by caring for others and seeking the advancement of His values and principles in our world, or will we use them to further ourselves, our careers, our goals, etc?

And, thirdly, our treasures represent those financial resources God has allowed us to have while here on this earth. While this can be a number of things from investments to family inheritance, a primary focus is place on that which we earn as we use both our time and talents in this world. Our resources might be the income God has allowed us to derive from the work that He has gifted us to do.

Funny thing about all three of these is that they are all interconnected. For instance, if you use your talent and time in a way that is productive, then in all likelihood (not always) you will receive treasures as a result. In the economy of God, Christ wants us to understand that all three ultimately belong to Him (not us) and the constant test of our commitment is seen in what we choose to do with them on a day by day basis!

As we move into our new series called 'Body Life and Kingdom Investments' we will be picking back up in our walk through the Gospel of Luke. In the texts we will be considering over the next 8 weeks or so, we will find Christ, again and again, calling His followers to a deeper commitment to Him. This commitment is one that is illustrated in how we use that which He has given us. My goal in this series is that we will each be challenged to 'take the next' step.

In order to take the next step, however, we must first truthfully assess where we currently are. So, my question is this: What are we doing with our time, talents and treasures today? On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being least and 10 being most) how generous are we tin these three areas? Do we give freely unto the Lord in each of these three areas? Perhaps we are better in one or two of the areas, but not in all three. Find out where you are and commit to bring your heart, soul, mind and strength before the Word of the Lord each weekend with me and ask Him to help you take the 'next step' in each of these three key areas.

After all, if Christ looks to these to gauge our spiritual growth and discipleship, then perhaps it is wise for us to spend some time looking at them (and then to Him) ourselves!

Investing in Eternity!

Biz

New Series: Body Life and Kingdom Investments

Bible Basis: Gospel of Luke (picking back up in chapter 16)

Series Goal: To Enlist (encourage, inspire, empower and recruit) our congregation to live a life of Kingdom Investment and take that crucial next step in regard to our time, talent and treasure!