Investing in Eternity

October 14, 2018

“It’s not ours.” Rick was telling his story in his usual quiet, confident manner. He spoke of the debt he had incurred for stuff he didn’t need, and of how God rescued him and brought him to the place where he could give generously for ministry greater than himself. Realizing that all he had really belonged to God and he was only returning to God what was already his own was the beginning of a transformation that has brought him greater joy than he could have imagined.

Others spoke of how God had met them through the ministry of Park church, with humble testimony of grace and kindness being shown to them through ordinary people who were merely trying to live out the love of Christ, of dreams unleashed because someone simply asked what dream God had given them. I looked around the high school gym where we were gathered to make our commitments to the future ministry of the church. Most of the people gathered weren’t a part of the congregation twenty years ago when we took that first step of faith and committed to fund the building we now occupy. We had said back then that we were giving for people we didn’t even know. Many of those unknown people were sitting and listening tonight. 

It is gratifying to look around and see the fruit of your labor in the people gathered in the Lord’s name. Even more is seeing those people taking up the reins of leadership and carrying the Message to a new generation. I’m no longer in the middle of all that’s happening at Park church; Joe is. It is strangely satisfying to be playing a supportive role. And to listen to testimonies of God’s faithfulness is priceless. 

When Rick reminded us that all we have really belongs to God, I thought of the little drawer on the top left of my dresser in our bedroom. It’s an old piece of furniture that once belonged to my great-grandmother. Underneath that drawer is an envelope containing a gift my mother gave me about a year ago. There were three of them; one for my brother, my sister, and myself. Those envelopes contained our inheritance, a tangible symbol of 95 years of life. Years before, dad had lamented that there wasn’t much to leave to us. I reminded him that we already had all the inheritance we could ever want—the example of faith and faithfulness that has been the foundation of our lives. 

I had put that envelope under that little drawer, unwilling to part with this expression of my mother’s love. Until tonight. Tonight it becomes part of a legacy to future generations, to people my mother will never meet, but into whose lives she invests as she continues to do in mine. So, thank you, Rick, for your testimony that reminded me again that it’s not mine. Thank you, mom, for investing in your kids as you did for so many years. And thank you, Jesus, for your gift of grace that is the foundation of all I hold dear.