The top investors of all time

“For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.”  Romans 15:26-27

If we were to venture a guess at the top investors of all time, we would probably list Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and Bill Gross among them.  These financial wizards have an off-the-charts understanding of monetary value – how it is created, how it is assessed and how to spot value at bargain prices.  And with their superior insight, they have amassed vast wealth not only for themselves, but also for those who have followed their lead.

There is, however, one big problem with our little list.  It’s focused on the here-and-now.  It contemplates only temporal wealth – the kind that is lost as we breathe our last.

I suspect that, at some point on the other side of eternity, we will discover the real investment gurus - the humble ones who understood Kingdom currency, those who pursued with all their hearts the things that matter to God.  They will be the ones who, trusting and obeying God, saw beyond earthly treasures and accumulated for themselves, instead, “treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.¹”

So let’s call a do-over!  Let’s scrap our first attempt and re-consider our “top investors of all time.”

We might start with the woman at the temple, the widow who “doubled down,” putting into the treasury two coins worth “a fraction of a penny” ... which was, for her, “everything – all she had to live on.²”  And we would have to add the Macedonian churches, for despite their “extreme poverty,” these Gentiles “gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability³” for the offering being taken up for the poor in Jerusalem!  Perhaps we could add Zacchaeus, who responded to Jesus’ grace by giving half of his possessions to the poor. 

There will be others ... and plenty of surprises.  For we will all gather before the throne one day – the widow and Warren, the Macedonians and Peter, Zacchaeus and Bill, you and me.  There we will see the illusion of earthly riches exposed, and there we will see the grandeur of eternal wealth revealed.  For whoever leaves all for Jesus’ sake will receive “a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.⁴”

Does this mean we should rush out and give everything away in a fearful fit of self-directed zeal?  I don’t think so.  Instead, we are most richly blessed when we remain poor in spirit, praying each day that God show us clearly what he is asking from us, whether time or treasure ... being of a mind to obey him, unbegrudgingly and without delay ... and looking forward to the day when we see the eternal returns God has produced from our temporal investments.

“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who live him?”  James 2:5

[To see the daily reading, Romans 15:23-33, click here.]

¹ Matthew 6:20
² Mark 12:44
³ 2 Corinthians 8:3
⁴ Matthew 19:29