SEPTEMBER 16 "HOW'S YOUR RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT?"

In the financial world, we monitor our investments and if the return is not what we anticipated or if we suffer to many losses, we pull our money out and reinvest in something else with greater dividends. Only in The Kingdom of God do we continue to invest, on what often is not yielding the returns we would want. Only in the Kingdom of God would we continue to invest where we continually take losses. Paul is writing this letter to the Galatians, trying to save a major loss, from a major investment he has made.  Paul himself quotes "the Lord's investment in me was not in vain!".  Paul understands investment and that there should be a return on investment. Paul has greatly invested in this Church, he writes, "Oh foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. How foolish can you be".  He's frustrated, he's vexed, after all the investment he made in them, that they would so easily and so quickly, be swayed back.  To be honest, I don't think Paul's letter accomplished what he perhaps was hoping it would.  It could be that Paul also realized that his letter would not change the course for them, but God inspired Paul to write it so it could change the course for us. The lesson we can learn from Paul and Jesus, is that we invest in lives with no promise of any return. We invest in lives knowing full well, there will be betrayal!  We invest in lives knowing at times it will be in vain. We continue to invest in lives when there is no dividends to cash in. We must be reminded that we invest in people's lives not for people, but for Jesus. Jesus will always be grateful for our investment in other people's lives and our dividends, for the most part, will not come to us here on earth, but are being stored up in Heaven. And that is not some sappy cliche just to make us feel better, next time someone stabs us in the back or walks away after much investment. In the physical realm, investment yields dividends here on earth, in the spiritual realm, investment yields dividends in Heaven. If what we do, we do for people, we will quickly quit the fist time we suffer loss on our investment.  If what we do, we do for Jesus and because of what Jesus did for us, then we will continue to invest, until we die, in the lives of other people because we do it not for them and we do it not for physical and earthly rewards/dividends. No doubt, there are many lives in many churches doing quite well, because of the investment of another Christian; and may that encourage us and be a portion of our reward, but if we begin to lean and depend upon that, to spur us on to invest in another life, eventually that will fail and then what, we stop investing? Take your rewards, your encouragement from wherever you can get it, but always hold to the core of your being, that you invest in others, not for them, but for Christ, and He is always grateful and He will always reward, "for great is your treasure in Heaven", says The Lord.