Session #2

 

Let me ask you a question.  How do you know whether or not something is a wise investment?  It could be a good investment of your time, your money, your talents…anything.  But how do you really know whether or not the investment is a sure thing?  What would you have to know?  Are there any investments that are really like this?  

Is a parent investing time to play with their child a wise investment?

Is investing money in the stock market a wise investment?

Is practice a wise investment for a musician or an athlete?

Is taking extra courses to pursue a pay raise at work a wise investment?

Is spending that extra time studying for an exam a wise investment?

Is spending extra money to get the very best coaching a wise investment?

Is spending at least 30 minutes every day reading a wise investment?

Is choosing to invest your time to provide free tutoring for elementary aged students a wise investment?

Is taking some “me time” a wise investment?

Some investment decisions are easier than others, but as you review these questions above, you have likely noticed that deciding on what is and is not a wise investment is rarely a simple answer.  In order to have faith that an investment is wise and worth it we must understand two things - the cost, and the potential reward.  The deeper we understand both sides of this equation, the wisest decision we are able to make.  

For instance, as a musician, spending extra money on coaching seems like a wise decision, but what if doing so prevents you from being able to save for your education?  Is this really a wise tradeoff?  If you have the opportunity to play professionally, then maybe, but if it is a hobby, then certainly not.  You see, determining whether or not an investment is wise requires you to have a very deep understanding of the circumstances surrounding the decisions.  And in order to develop this understanding, you also need to understand deeply what the investment will cost you, as well as a deep understanding of the potential rewards of the investment, and how likely it is that the investment will “pay off”.  

The purpose of this session is to challenge you to give a deep look at what you are investing your life in.  Obviously your life is a tremendously important investment - you only have one, and your investment determines your existence - both in this present world, and for all of eternity.  How you invest your life is by far the absolute greatest investment you will ever make.  We need to get this right.

In Luke 18, we are presented with a dialogue that Jesus had with a rich, young ruler.  This man had money, and he had power.  And he came up to Jesus with an investment question.  He was asking him how he could ensure that he spent his time here on earth making investments that would guarantee that he would one day receive the benefit of eternal life.  Let’s take a look at the passage.

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.  Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

(Luke 18:18-30)

While the dialogue Jesus had with this young man, and the conversation that followed with His disciples, were not lengthy, He managed to get right to the heart of what living a life for Christ entails.  He got right to the heart of what it means to live a life of “eternal investment” here on earth.  Even though this young man was rich, powerful and striving to live a life of morality, there is still “one thing” that he was lacking.  Jesus tells him that he needs to sell all that he has, give it to the poor, and then come, follow Him.

Many of us at this point are probably thinking something along the lines of, “Wait a second.  A requirement of Heaven is that I sell all I have?  How is there any wisdom or logic in that?  I thought Jesus wants what is best for me?  How is willingly making myself poor so that I have absolutely nothing a wise way to live?”  While it is understandable to interpret the passage this way, it is not what Jesus is saying.  This is not His message.  

You see, Jesus said, “You still lack one thing”.  The keyword here is lack.  Jesus is pointing out that there is something that the young man does not yet have that he still needs, and in his ultimate wisdom, Jesus is highlighting that which is preventing him from gaining it - his wealth and power.  Jesus is saying to the young man that the value he has placed on his wealth and power is preventing him from valuing Him (Christ).  By encouraging the young man to get rid of his wealth - and leave his position of power to then go follow Jesus - he has highlighted what is currently holding the position of lord in the man’s life.  The “one thing” the young man still lacks is Jesus as Lord in his life.  That position has been filled by the young man’s desire to be rich, and powerful.  And this is why he leaves Jesus in great sadness, because he loves his current “lord” too much to surrender it to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

As previously mentioned, the question asked of Jesus - what must the young man do to inherit eternal life - was an investment question.  And Jesus gave him an investment answer.  Jesus was asking him to surrender, or invest, that which was supreme in his life in return for a different treasure.  He was asking him to surrender worldly treasures, so that he could gain eternal treasures.  

When we look at things from the standpoint of investing something temporary in order to gain something eternal, it really should be a no-brainer.  Anything that will only last for a short time, in exchange for something valuable that will last eternally, is an absolutely great investment.  Yet, this idea might not immediately satisfy us as we seek to understand the answer Jesus gave the rich, young ruler.  It certainly did not satisfy the young man, as he left with great sadness.  

 

And this brings us back to what it takes to make wise investment decisions - you need to understand both sides of the equation.  You need a deep understanding of the costs, as well as the potential investment gains.  The only reason anyone would look at this historical account and be frustrated or sad by what Jesus says, is because we understand the value of worldly riches, but fail to understand the value of eternal rewards.  We see Jesus calling the young man to give up something we see as valuable, but we don’t understand why it is such a great investment because we don’t understand the supreme value Jesus is offering in return.  It’s similar to a parent telling their child that they can’t spend their entire day playing video games.  The child understands the fun of the game, but they don’t understand the bigger picture of the destruction that comes when video games are the main joy of your life.

And this should wake us up - for if we read this and feel sadness or frustration just like the rich young ruler, then we too “still lack one thing”.  It means there is still one or more things in our life that is keeping Christ from having full access to be Lord of our life.  Said another way, if the idea of surrender to Christ makes us more frustrated than it does joyful, then we are like a child being told by their parent that they can’t spend their lives playing video games all day.  We are not understanding the bigger picture of the joy available to us through surrender to Christ.  Instead, we want to hold on to our ways of doing things because we think we know best.  But our “best” is only going to hurt us in the long run - the eternal long run.

Which brings us to a very important next step - we need to understand the other side of the investment.  We need to understand why surrendering all aspects of our lives to Christ is such a “sweet deal”.  

To develop this understanding, we need to examine what we “gain” by holding on to worldly things, while at the same time what is gained by letting go of them.  To do this, we can once again examine and draw conclusions from the story of the rich, young ruler.

We know that the young man was sad because he did not want to give up the wealth and power that he had gained throughout his life.  But there is an additional piece of information that we can infer from the text.  His wealth and power had not provided him with contentment.  If it had, he would not have been coming to Jesus asking for something else - eternal life.  If he was content in his wealth and power, then he would not have been coming to Jesus asking for something in addition to his wealth and power.  

We can certainly relate.  It is a universal truth that wealth never satisfies, and power never feels secure.  We fear losing it, and so we seek more of it, or strive to put in place initiatives in our lives to ensure that we can’t lose it.  We see this everywhere in the world around us…

Politicians who make deals with other people in positions of power in order to secure re-election.

The wealthy who make crooked deals in order to gain greater wealth.

Athletes who develop win at all cost mentalities out of fear a lack in production will lead to getting cut and losing their next big contract.

Parents who attempt to hold on to social status by paying off university admissions offices so their kids can get into prestigious schools.

And the list could go on and on.  Whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not, we as human beings know that when it comes to any money, power or status that we gain, it is never completely secure.  And so we do whatever we can to try and give ourselves the greatest possible sense of security.  But it truly is a futile cause.

These pursuits come at a great cost to our hearts and minds.  As we pursue security through wealth, power and other worldly things, we become full of the following…

Pride - We want people to see us as best.  We desire to take charge of our own destiny, and want everyone to see clearly all that we can, have and hope to accomplish.

Anxiety - We try to take control of outcomes in our lives, but since we never have complete control over outcomes, anxiety grows within us.

Impatient - We want what we want, and want it quickly so that we can feel secure.  

Selfishness - We struggle to serve others because it's a kill or be killed world.  I need to dominate, I can’t put others before myself.

Envy - We compare ourselves to others, and desire what they have.  Because there is always someone with more, we always desire more.

Lacking self-control - We are controlled by our selfish ambitions.  They determine how we act, feel, what we do and when we do it.  Our focus on trying to control outcomes causes us to be controlled by them.

And this is why Jesus called the rich, young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor.  By doing so, he would remove that which was controlling him, so that he could enjoy the freedom that comes from living for Christ.  Galatians 5:22 highlights this freedom.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Notice the “fruit” that is evident in our lives when we surrender our lives to Christ.  Our surrender brings about the exact opposite characteristics than does living for worldly desires.  When Jesus told the rich young ruler that he was still lacking one thing, He was highlighting that his heart was being held hostage by his sinful desires.  By laying down his idols, he would be gaining Christ as Lord, and when anyone does this, the fruit that comes with it is very, very sweet.  It brings health to all aspects of our lives.  It brings true fulfillment.  

And one of the reasons why this fruit becomes evident in our lives is because we are enjoying true security.  As mentioned, worldly possessions and desires are never completely secure, but when we surrender to the Lord of the Universe, the One who holds all things together, we experience complete security.  When we accept the gift of Jesus, making Him Lord and Savior of our lives, we gain the gift of eternal life, and the security that comes from knowing that death has “lost its sting” (1 Corinthians 15:55).  We, like Paul, can say, “To live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).  There is no greater security than to know that even death can’t hurt you.  To know that no matter what happens to you on this earth, you are secure in the love of Christ and that He will “work all things together for good” in your life because you are His and He loves you (Romans 8:28).  When even death can’t hurt you, it is then that you know you are enjoying complete security.  No amount of worldly wealth or power can provide this security - only Christ Jesus can.  And when we surrender to Him, we gain that one thing.  And how incredibly wonderful that one thing is.

Another way to think of this, is that through Christ, our reality in this world becomes like His was when He was here on earth.  He endured a ton of pain and suffering, but in the end, the pain wouldn’t last because He was “outside” of this world.  In the end, He had a route out of all the pain and the suffering - a route back to heaven.  When we surrender our lives to Christ, that reality becomes ours as well.  We have a route to heaven, and no amount of pain or suffering we endure here on earth will change that reality for us.  When Christ died on the cross for us, He provided a route to eternity.  This is why Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me”.  This is incredibly good, hope-filled news!

All that we have examined serves to highlight a couple very important truths.  They can be easy to miss, but are extremely important to be aware of.

Truth #1 - Things of this world always leave you empty, while simultaneously taking up room that prevents you from being filled.

Truth #2 - Christ always leaves you filled, while simultaneously creating space to be filled with more.

Like in our first session, we are once again presented with paradoxical instruction.  It leads us to wonder, how can something leave us empty, while simultaneously taking up room that prevents us from being filled?  And how can something leave us filled, while simultaneously creating space to be filled with more?

The answer is found in the fact that Christ is eternal, while this world is temporary.  Pastor Tim Keller has been known for explaining this idea brilliantly.  He highlights the fact that because Christ is eternal, there is always more of Him available.  You cannot exhaust His love - you can always get more.  And the beauty is that He desires to give us more and more of His love.  He created us for it.  This means that while Christ brings absolute fulfillment and security, He is a resource that is always available for more - He is a resource that cannot possibly be exhausted.  

Once we realize this, another beautiful realization accompanies it.  It can be illustrated through a glass of water that is full, but continues to receive water - it flows over.  We are like that cup - as it says in Psalm 23:5, “My cup overflows”.  The joy and fulfillment that Christ brings leads to overflow in our lives, and we can use that overflow to serve the world around us.  

This once again connects logically with all other teachings of Christ.  He calls us to love Him, and love others.  Because Christ is eternal, His love, blessings and fulfillment cannot possibly be exhausted, and like a cup that flows over, His perfect love fills us and continually flows over, and we are gifted with the opportunity to serve those around us with the overflow.  

Imagine having a barbeque and you’ve been cooking countless hamburgers.  You’ve eaten, and you are full - you can’t possibly eat any more.  You see a neighbour who is in need and hungry.  You share with them your excess, and it leaves you blessed indeed.  The only reason you would even think of hesitating to share is if you don’t feel secure in your ability to have enough food for yourself later on in the week - if you feel like you need to load up your fridge to make sure you will have enough for yourself and your family.   But what if the hamburgers were free, and you knew you had access to an unlimited amount?  In that case, of course you will share your access.  It would bring you great joy to help your neighbour in need.  You would never want to miss out on that blessing.  

This is what God is offering us.  Security and blessings that never run out.  And when we understand this, we can enjoy being filled to overflow, and then use that overflow to bless those around us - which leads to even deeper blessing.

The hamburger illustration also serves to highlight how selfishness presents itself through our insecurities.  We hesitate to share with others when we ourselves don’t feel secure.  As we have highlighted previously, worldly possessions such as wealth and power can never be completely secure, so we try to store up for ourselves in order to give ourselves the illusion of security.  And this is why the things of this world leave you empty, while simultaneously preventing you from being filled.  

Wealth, possessions and all other worldly desires are never secure, because this world is only temporary.  When we try to make the temporary secure, we engage in a pointless quest which leaves us feeling insecure and empty.  The temporary cannot possibly leave us fulfilled because the temporary doesn’t last.  And that which doesn’t last cannot leave us fulfilled - because it simply doesn’t last.  And this is why only Jesus can bring true fulfillment - because He is eternal and will always last.  Only He can cause us to be FULL - FILLED.  Because Christ is eternal, He leaves us filled, while simultaneously creating space to be filled with more.  Because He is eternal, there is always more of Him available.  With Him, we get to live in joyful, eternal overflow.  

As we conclude, I’d like to highlight one more verse.  In Jesus' most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, He stated, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6).  This is one of the ways that we can ensure that we don’t become like the rich, young ruler.  He hungered and thirst for money and power - and it left him empty.  Jesus makes it very clear that He is the way to be filled.  To hunger and thirst for righteousness, is to hunger and thirst for Him.  The pursuit of righteousness is the pursuit of Him because to be righteous is to be more like Him.   When we hunger and thirst after Christ, we hunger and thirst for Him and His ways, and because He is eternal, there is always more of Him and His love available.  And when we exhaust, as Tim Keller says, the “inexhaustible well” known as Jesus Christ, we get to enjoy life being fully filled and serve those around us in the overflow He provides.  

To really help us see this, let’s use another hamburger illustration.  The reason we eat a hamburger is to satisfy physical hunger.  When we eat, our hunger is satisfied - until we are hungry again.  Can you imagine if I tried to completely fulfill my human hunger through one hamburger?  Imagine I held that hamburger in my hands and led myself to believe the lie that that hamburger would completely satisfy all my hunger.  How foolish it would be to believe that because I had that hamburger, I would never hunger again.  We can see the absurdity in such thinking because we understand that the hamburger is temporary - it cannot possibly last.  No matter how much we value the hamburger, it will eventually be gone, and we will be left empty.  Temporary things don’t last, and always leave us feeling empty.  But Jesus is eternal, and He satisfies our hunger eternally.  There is always more of Him available, and He provides us with the love and joy that He created us to find fulfillment in.  

So let’s return to the investment question we started with.  What will you invest your life in?  We have taken the time to investigate both sides of the equation.  We understand that to surrender our selfish ambitions for the sake of Christ means to sacrifice that which is temporary and leaves us feeling empty, for that which is eternal and always leaves us fulfilled and can never be exhausted.  There is no greater security than life in Christ.  Can you see it?  Do you hunger for it?  The investment is there for the taking, you need to decide what you will invest your life in.  You only have one, and the decision you make has eternal consequences.  The choice is yours.  Take the time to choose wisely.