Men and Women who give

 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Our theme for this month is "Men and Women who Give", but I might put it another way, "Men and Women who Invest". Jesus taught us a lot about stewardship of the resources He has entrusted to us. He tells us to "store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven". Also, He promised that whatever we give up for the sake of the Kingdom will be returned to us up to a hundred fold. How many of us would like to make an investment in the stock market that would pay off like that? The bank herein invested in is no earthly institution, but rather the first bank of Heaven. 

Sowing and reaping is a common theme in Jesus' teachings. To be sure, some have taken His counsel on giving, and have made it into a marketplace. Phrases like "seed faith" or "mustard seed" have been used to encourage giving to some ministers. The principle, though, is not wrong: Investing in the Kingdom DOES pay off - just not here on Earth, necessarily. It's not the teaching that is wrong, but the hearers. They are may be thinking of earthly rewards. Yet Paul says that what we give must be given without thought to any reward. 

Someone said if you want to know what a man really believes, ask his accountant, who knows very well how he is spending his resources. Yet I would not limit this principle only to finances, but all of our daily lives. Are our hearts focused on the things of this world, or do we see ourselves as "strangers and aliens" as regarding them? What attraction is there for us in the "lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life"? As the song says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will go strangely dim, in the light of His glorious grace". 

So in conclusion, we give generously, not expecting any return. We do this not only with money, but our time as well. So focused on the Kingdom are we to be that we literally don't pay attention to our gift, our left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Perhaps it will come back to us to enable investing again in the Kingdom. Perhaps we won't see the reward until we reach the Judgment Seat of Christ. It does not matter. Our eyes are focused on that Heavenly City. This is our permanent home.