© Rev. Lance Carrithers, all rights reserved.  Permission required to copy any portion of this message by any means. Email for permission: lance@firstchurchdc.com

"Investors"

Colossians 1:3-6; 9-12 

            Whenever I read many of the passages like this one from Paul’s letters to the early Christians, I am moved by his pure and tireless efforts to build up the body of Christ through encouragement, teaching, and correction.   Paul invested his entire life into adding value to the body of Christ by adding value to the people he brought the gospel to. 

             Listen again to some phrases from the passage we read this morning:

1.        We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.

2.       All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it

3.       We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you

4.       And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work.

             Paul invested in the gospel by first and foremost, investing in people.

            He invested time, energy, his heart, his resources, and his life.  And by doing so, he counted on that investment having a return—a return for the kingdom, to be sure, but surprisingly, I think, a return for him personally.

             Leadership Author John Maxwell says there are only three kinds of people when it comes to the subject of giving and receiving.  There are Takers, Traders, and Investors.

                 1.      Takers receive and never give.

2.      Traders receive and THEN give in return. 

3.      Investors give and then receive.

             Investors desire to make everything and everyone they touch better, and they understand that the best way to accomplish that is to give of themselves.   Beyond Jesus, Paul is perhaps our next best model of what it means to invest self in the life of others.  Paul hoped to embody the life of Christ by doing so, and encourages those who follow Christ to do likewise.  To sow in hope of reaping, to invest in hope of return.     

             Returning to Maxwell, he says, “Whenever you give to another person, you will receive something in return.”  That return may come in one of three ways—a return that affects your valuables,  your values or your virtues. Your valuables are the things that provide financial worth. Values are the things that bring fulfillment.

Virtues are the things that develop character.

            Biblically both the Christ and Paul talked often of sowing and reaping, of bearing fruit in the body of Christ.  We know that in nature, if you sow, you reap.  The Bible teaches us what every gardener knows, what you reap depends on what you plant.  And you always reap later than you sow.  The same is true when it comes to relationships. 

            I want to share with you some steps Dr. Maxwell suggests we might take to become an investor.

1. Think “others” first.  Develop an attitude of kindness toward everyone, and begin every relationship by giving the other person respect—even before the person has had a chance to earn it.  This is the very definition of grace.  What God has offered us…love and blessing before we have even had a chance to earn it.  And so we are called to act grace-fully toward others.   Initiate acts of kindness with everyone.

2. Focus on Investment, not Return.  When we help others, we benefit.  But that is NOT where we should place our focus.  Investors in people are like investors in the stock market.  In the long haul, they will benefit, but they have little control over what the return will look like or how it will occur.  But they CAN control what and how they invest.  And that’s where we should focus our time and energy.  Invest in people, add value.  And the third concept will hold true:

3. Enjoy a Return in Due Season.  When our motives are pure and we genuinely desire to add value to others, we cannot help others without receiving some benefit.  The return may be immediate, or it may take a long time, but it will occur.   Remember, the return may affect our valuables, our values, or our virtues.

            Everyone here knows, I’m sure, the name of Helen Keller.  Helen Keller was transformed through the tireless efforts of a dedicated teacher, Anne Sullivan, as vividly portrayed in the “Miracle Worker” on stage and on screen.

            Helen was just 7 years old when Sullivan came into her life lived almost like a wild animal.  But Sullivan taught her to communicate and opened the world to her.  By the time Keller was an adult, she was able to care for herself, went on to receive a college degree and became a famous author and lecturer.

            What you may not know is that when Anne Sullivan became ill in her later years, the person who took care of her was none other than Helen Keller.  The helper became the one who needed help, and the one to whom she had added value turned around and added value to her.  Invest in others, and it will come back to you, sometimes in a most unexpected way.  Invest in others, and

“…All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth…according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Thanks be to God.