We attended a funeral recently and heard that when we are born we are given some time, a lifetime to invest in. This lifetime was likened to a bank account that we invest our wages in, and each day we live was likened to withdrawing from that account and adding to our eternal account. Each day we live, our earthly account becomes smaller until it reaches zero and there is no more time left. We have such a wonderful privilege in our lifetime of investing wisely so when death comes, our eternal account has grown and we have treasures in heaven.
We’re told in Genesis that Satan was more subtle than any beast of the field. When he first spoke to Eve, he said, “…hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” Satan was testing Eve to see how well she understood God’s word; he tested her faith. When we believe God, our faith will be sorely tested above all else. Eve was given time to repent but sometimes we never get another opportunity.
I remember hearing of a young man who was left in charge of his father’s garage while his father ran an errand, and while he was alone, a thief came and demanded that he open up the cash register and give him the money. But that boy said, “I’ll have to ask my father first.” And the robber fled! He didn’t fear what his father might say or his punishment, but he was interested in following his father’s instructions and he took good heed. We must take good heed too, paying close attention to our Heavenly Father’s instructions for us.
When the Children of Israel were in the wilderness, God provided them with manna. That manna was provided every day, whether they needed it or not, and they were to take good heed of how to gather it: it was to be gathered by every man according to his eating, according to the number of persons, some more and some less, and it was not to be left till the morning. On the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much manna as their holy Sabbath fell the next day. These instructions for gathering the manna were to prove whether they believed in God or not and whether they loved Him. It was to be gathered in urgency early in the morning. Satan isn’t worried about the things that take us away from God but he does worry if we spend too much time with Him gathering quietly, with an urgency early in the morning. If we aren’t profitable in gathering bread, our investment account will soon be at zero! It’s good to ask ourselves: Do we love what God has asked us to do? If we do, it will be a wise investment. I hope we understand all that God has asked us to do, for He has given us so much in return.
There were some girls working at a bank who told us this story that when they started, they were trained to recognize a counterfeit bill. They weren’t given a counterfeit bill to study but they were given a real (true) bill to examine and become familiar with. Then, they were told to hold it up to the light and study it. I thought of that verse, “Let not your heart be deceived.” We must keep close to God and have our eyes focused on Jesus at all times and learn to obey Him and love Him. When we think of forgiveness, we will remember Jesus. He had such faith in God when He committed His life to Him, and we need this same spirit of trust like He had. Mary and Joseph were Jesus’ earthly parents who treasured and invested wisely in Jesus — they had such a wonderful spirit of love for Him. I hope we will ask God to help us be wise in investing in these eternal matters of worth for no matter how weary we become, to invest is just such a little bit of our life.