Kingdom Investments

Luke 12:22-34

The purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. (Luke 12:33)

FOR CENTURIES, alchemists sought ways to turn everyday materials—dirt, clay, stone, and base metals—into precious metals and gems. Some studied the processes and reactions of nature, while others looked for divine illumination that would reveal the key to transforming substances. These alchemists believed the properties of treasure were embedded in elemental forms and that the right knowledge or power could bring them out. They wanted to turn what was common into something priceless.

Their techniques never worked, for reasons we now understand. But their desire touched on something innate in human experience—some longing for the eternal that has echoed in our souls from long ago. And in a sense, we can do what alchemists never learned to do. Jesus referred to it in his teachings, and Paul elaborated on it later. We can take the material substance of this world and leverage it for eternal gain. We can invest our money, time, talents, and much more in God’s Kingdom and receive something of everlasting value in return.

Have you considered what a privilege that is? Investors in this age marvel at 20, 50, or even 100 percent returns. But Jesus promised something much greater. Our gifts in this material world can be sown into the soil of God’s Kingdom and bear fruit that lasts. We can hardly imagine what compounded interest looks like throughout all of eternity, but that’s the promise of Kingdom investments. When we give to God, we receive back from him—both in this age and the one to come.

Don’t miss that investment opportunity. You will never encounter a better one. The things we accumulate in this age can be destroyed by moth, rust, decay, or a bad economy. But the Kingdom economy is never bad, and no investment in it fails to have some sort of influence that will echo forever. Leverage the temporary resources of your life for eternal purposes, and see how God transforms them. They will become more valuable than you could imagine.

{Lord, you can turn trinkets into gold when they are given in faith. Give me a generous heart that offers my all to you in love and faithfulness, and use it for eternal glory. Bear fruit in me that lasts forever. Amen.