By Claire Eva, Assistant Director, General Conference Stewardship Ministries
Summary: Investing oneself in another child of God--without strings--brings
dividends untold.
I went to see my children in a play this week. Not my birth children, but the children of my teaching years. Lyle played the lead in ?Fiddler on the Roof.? And somewhere in my memory, if I just hold my eyes in a proper gaze and concentrate, I can see Lyle as a small first grader, wearing a donkey’s grey hood and singing through his new incisors, ?The Donkey’s Lament.? As I left the school, I thought of how the cast, and especially the teacher, spent themselves in the production of this musical. Was it all worth it? This is the kind of thing I think about when I think of investing—investing mounds of energy, sacrificing precious family time and restful seasons to create such an endeavor.
I remember occasions when such investments seemed to turn belly up! While pastoring we received many calls—late at night, early in the morning and even on holidays. Calls that beckoned us away from our comfort to help someone who frequently didn’t really seem to appreciate it. But there were those who did. And there are stories we could tell of rescue from untimely circumstances, even, perhaps, death. Stories of disappointment. Stories of deliverance. When we invest ourselves completely—the funds we have been given, the time we are graced with—are there returns? Yes. And it is nice to see those returns.
Seeing Lyle go from donkey to Tevye brings rewarding recompense. But some plant and others reap. Investing oneself in another child of God—without strings—brings
dividends untold. Just for the joy of it. This is investing that counts.
