Things to Invest in….

"Do not be
afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that
will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no
thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also. “ Luke 12: 32-34.

In the last post I referenced Luke 12:13-34 with regard to
wise investments. Jesus says to invest your life in things that will not wear
out, in treasure that will not be exhausted. That raises some questions: where
is this treasure, and what are these things that will not wear out? How do you find them? How do you lead your
children to investments that yield such a rich reward?

The biblical answer to this question has important
implications for your role as a parent. God has called you to give your
treasures to your children. These treasures come from your instruction to your
children.  Proverbs 1:8-9 describes your
instruction as fine jewelry with which you are to adorn your children. Do you
regard the instructions you give your children as precious and rare gifts to
them? Do your instructions really point
them in the direction of treasure that cannot be exhausted?

To give precious gifts you must first know how to
distinguish rare and beautiful gifts from ordinary gifts. When my children were
young we traveled to a gemstone mine in the  North  Carolina mountains. We were given a small bucket of mud, dirt and
rocks to examine and see if there were any raw precious stones which could be
fashioned into fine jewelry. Finding the
right words to say to your children is a little like sifting through those buckets
of dirt and ordinary rocks at the mine.  A sharp eye was needed to distinguish the good
stones from the ordinary ones. Of course,
the people who worked at the mine could recognize the good stones much more
quickly than we could.  In the same way,
as you seek to develop your relationship with God through his word, you will more
easily sort out ordinary words from the extraordinary, precious words that
speak of the glory of God. As your heart
treasures the wisdom of God you will find more quickly those words that will
build up and bring encouragement rather than the sharp words that produce
discouragement. You see, not just any
word that comes to mind will bring the Spirit’s treasures to the surface. You want to use words that are carefully
chosen to yield treasure which will not wear out.

Think about the words you use to instruct your children. Are
they common words that are indistinguishable from broken rock and dirt? Or are
they words that contain heavenly treasure?  You want to shepherd your children toward
those investments that will never wear out and can never be stolen from your
children. Your words of instruction
indicate where your treasure lies as well. As you consider the everyday words
you use—why not share some of your thoughts with us? In the next post we will continue
to examine this connection between your words and biblical treasure.