Get The Maximum Return

Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.   Matthew 6:20

Jesus appealed openly and unashamedly to our desire for gain. He is appealing here to people who want to gain a maximum return on the investment of their lives, and he’s saying, “Let me tell you how to do it.”

Jesus also spoke powerfully about guarding against unacceptable losses: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26). There are some losses you can’t afford to take.

Remember the parable Jesus told about how we should invest our lives? Three servants were trusted with resources by their master. When their master returned, the servants who made wise investments and showed a profit were commended, and the servant who wasted his opportunity to invest was punished (see Matthew 25:14-30).

You may be wondering how this talk about gain fits with Jesus’ words about the cost of following him. The Bible never hides the cost. Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

But that’s only the first half of Jesus’ statement. Immediately after this, he said, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Matthew 16:25). Even the cost of taking up the cross is a sacrifice with a view to ultimate gain. Jesus wants to show you how you can invest your one journey through life in such a way as to gain the maximum return.

The whole Bible story is about making up for an incredible loss. God filled the world with good gifts for our first parents to enjoy; then an enemy came, and in one day, paradise was lost. The Bible tells us how it will be restored. Christ came into the world so that we may have life to the full (see John 10:10). An enemy has come to steal, kill, and destroy, but Christ has come to restore the priceless gifts of God. This desire for gain is deeply imbedded in you. God put it there.

For further reading, see Matthew 6