Post # 17 -- Investing for Eternity

In a previous post (Post #8)  I shared “My Story” of how years ago I admitted to a friend on the Air Force Base that my “time in the Word” was not good, and thus accepted his invitation to meet with him for a series of Monday mornings before work to read the Bible together and pray. That year was life changing for me!  I had been a “Christian” for years before this, but was not what I’d call today a “follower of Jesus”.  But with my friend’s mentoring and thoughtful care, I became reasonably confident in my relationship with the Lord. Then, after about a year or so of meeting like this, he said, “Don, let’s pray that God leads you to someone in whom you could invest and share what I’ve shared with you”.  This was a new thought to me, and a rather frightening one at that, yet with my new confidence in the Lord I was able to pray about this possibility.

THE REST OF THE STORY

Generally when we hear about “investing”, our minds go to the financial world.  This is  a different kind of investing.  It’s not about investing financially, but instead about one life being poured into another.

Shortly after being challenged by my friend to pray for someone to whom I could pass on what he had taught me, a friend from the church we were attending approached me with an unusual request. Jeff (not his real name) knew I was meeting with someone on the Air Force base who was helping me in my walk with God and asked if I could meet with him like that and help him.  Interesting!

So Jeff and I started meeting just as my friend and I had done — this time sitting in a car by a nearby lake in Waldorf, MD.  Jeff and I met weekly like this for nearly a year reading Scripture, discussing it, and praying through it all until his employer moved him to a different location and I was transferred to another Air Force assignment. 

During the years that followed, Jeff and I had occasional contact.  In time Jeff left his current job to follow a calling by God to plant a church in a midwestern town.  Fast forward about 20 years and Jeff, now the senior pastor of this church of about 3,000 people, and I were sitting at our dining room table reflecting on our journeys.  Excitedly  he told me about all the new churches that he and his church had been involved in planting — in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Mexico, and on and on. I asked how many churches that was. He did not know so I asked him to name them again and I counted 46 or 47 churches around the world.  Jeff leaned back, grinned and said, “You know where it all started, don’t you?!”  

I’m not telling you all this to take any credit here — simply to highlight what God can do when one life is intentionally invested biblically in another person over a period of time in life-to-life discipleship.

CATCHING THE VISION 

I did not know it at the time, but I was beginning to live out 2 Timothy 2:2 — “And the things you’ve heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, these things entrust to faithful men who are able also to teach still others.”  Here Paul lays out an awesome strategy for reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ — as one person invests in another who invests in still another and so on.  Though the concept is quite simple, as spiritual generations of people following Jesus emerge, the potential for reaching the world for Jesus Christ is awesome!

LIFE-TO-LIFE DISCIPLESHIP 

A disciple is someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus. Discipleship is the process of intentionally growing in our relationship with the Lord. 

Life-to-life discipleship happens when one individual invests his or her life deeply in another willing individual, the good and the bad, in a way that allows the growing disciple to see the reality of the resurrected Christ in the life of the discipler.  The apostle Paul describes this relational dynamic in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 — “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s good news but our own lives, too”.  God’s Word is critical, but it’s in the relational sharing of our lives that makes all the practical difference.

Each of us needs a cause or purpose to which we can give our lives.  It motivates us and helps us get out of bed in the morning.  This one-to-one discipleship is what has motivated me for years.  My mission through the years has been: “To raise up life-long laborers and leaders who will reproduce spiritually in the lives of others and change their worlds for Jesus Christ.” It’s interesting to observe that, whether it was with the USAF or in full-time ministry with the Navigators or now in voluntary ministry, this mission has remained the same — to make disciples who make other disciples.  

AN ETERNAL INVESTMENT

The years of investing in people like this have been rewarding and fulfilling — as we’ve sought to impact the world around us with the gospel and see the potential for friends becoming committed to following Jesus.  

This vision remains vital, active, and motivational today.  Without doubt, seeing people following Jesus has been exhilarating!  But more recently I’ve been especially energized with the realization that every moment invested in another life now is also an investment with eternal dividends!  What we do here on earth for the Lord is an eternal investment in heaven!  Maybe it’s because today I’m closer to heaven than I was back then, but this eternal vision is certainly becoming more real to me!

LIFE-TO-LIFE DISCIPLESHIP TODAY

Investing in others today while on this IPF medical journey continues with passion and vision.  It continues to inspire, motivate and gives meaning to our lives — but it certainly is different from what we’ve experienced in the past.  Here’s a snapshot of some of those differences.

• Greater sensitivity to and dependence on the Holy Spirit.  We readily recognize our inability to meet many of the needs around us and find ourselves relying more on the Lord to meet them.  This is a rather awkward thing to admit, but it’s the truth.  We’re learning great lessons!
• Stronger prayer life.  Along with a greater dependence on the Lord, we’re spending more time in prayer interceding for needs we are unable to meet.
• Slower paced.  Whereas I used to often run from one ministry meeting to another, I don’t do that any more … and that’s a welcomed change.
• Simpler agendas.  I’m still not sure what to make of this one, but our interactions with friends we’re discipling seems to be simpler, less complex and complicated.
• Enhanced relational empowerment.  Significant time is spent encouraging and caring for family and friends, especially for friends in whom we’ve made relational investments in the past.  
• Greater influence flowing from BEING.  If you’ve read my last post on “BEING More — DOING Less,” you know what I mean here.  Our primary tool for investing in people is our personal life experiences and character. I still use material resources, but less so.

There is much more to be said here … which I will try to unpack in future posts.

DOES INVESTING IN OTHERS HELP US THRIVE?

The prophet Isaiah would certainly agree that investing in others pays big dividends —  “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”  (Isaiah 28:10-22)

So can a guy on an IPF medical journey continue to invest his life in others?  He certainly can — though he must be willing to stay flexible, listen closely to God, and trust Him for creativity.

The bottom line for me is that I’m fulfilled when I see people grow in their relationships with the Lord as I recognize that each moment of investment is a deposit in heaven.  And joining with God in that process clearly helps me thrive!  

To that end, I’m also trusting that the blog posts I write will one day be revealed as investments in heaven.  Some of you, my Dear Readers, have already responded to these posts telling me that something written has encouraged you and helped you in your walk with the Lord.  Frankly that greatly encourages me and helps me continue to thrive!  Thanks for responding!