The Return on God's Investment

Apologies. It's been awhile since my last entry. But I just haven't been inspired. Until now that is. I've gotta  share this story. It's mysterious and yet it's obvious. It's confirming and inspiring. I hope I do it justice here.

Whenever, I assemble a mission team to go to Ukraine I tell the team that raising the funds needed is the hardest part but at the same time it's the most humbling and brings the greatest blessing. Asking for provision is hard, awkward, and humbling. But it's necessary. Otherwise our team could not continue to connect orphaned and abandoned children with life-giving relationship.

Before I tell the story I have to start by reminding you of another story of provision, thanks, and return.

It starts in Matthew 14 with the beheading of John the Baptist. Herod ordered that John the Baptist be executed as the result of a prideful promise made to his daughter...

“Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,  so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.  At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”  Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.  So John was beheaded in the prison,  and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. ”

Afterward, John's disciples recover the body in order to bury it properly then they go to find Jesus in order to share the dreadful news. After receiving the news,  Jesus is grieving for the loss of his cousin and he wants to be alone. He withdraws in a boat to remote place. However, a crowd finds him and begins to assemble.

You know the rest...

Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.  (Jesus is grieving yet he is overcome with compassion.)

That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”  (Knucklehead disciples)  

He stuns them and tells them, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”  (He's about to reveal once and for all to them the power of the almighty God.)

 “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.  (You know what happens next.) 

 “Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. 

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.  About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

Keep this in the back of your mind.

It all starts with some long-time friends of mine - a retired couple - Ron and Priscilla. They offered to help our orphan outreach mission team by providing some simple craft supplies. This couple is blessed. They're not wealthy be any stretch. Not many retired couples I know are wealthy. They live modestly and humbly. But all the same, they're richly blessed.

Ron has been a mentor for me. He's a man I admire greatly. He showed me the ropes of the print industry when I first arrived in Nashville in 1985. He gave me the leg up that I needed as a freelance designer in a tough industry when the market was glutted with guys like me. He taught me business integrity. He introduced me to my wife, Linda, for which I am immensely grateful.

I'm thankful that there are those whom God leads to give. I'm thankful that he provides the opportunity for friends to participate in blessing orphans by giving. It's humbling. Some don't really "have it" to give in the first place. Yet they give nevertheless.

It blesses them. It blesses others. It blesses me.

Ron has some health issues. He needs a cane sometimes to walk. He has had a rough go of it in the last several years. As time goes on his ability to walk without aid diminishes. It doesn't slow him down at all it seems. He began to tell me a story....

Ron needed a wheelchair - and they aren't cheap. The insurance would pay for most of the cost. But the deductible was close to five hundred dollars. Money they didn't have.

A friend offered to provide the cash for the deductible. I can imagine Ron and Priscilla were feeling the same humility in that offer that I often feel when receiving support for outreach. They thanked them for the offer but humbly refused. You see they knew God would provide.

Think about it though. What a blessing to have people in your life who are ready and willing to share what they have been blessed with. To have... in order to share. God provides so that we can share.

Instead, Ron and Priscilla decided to sell a boat motor that Ron had purchased some time before. They posted on Craig's List and asked $450 for the motor. Within a few hours after posting they received a message from a man in Cleveland, TN. He was a fisherman. He offered full "asking" price if Ron would hold the motor until he could arrive in Nashville.

The fisherman arrived and promptly left the cash in the full amount with no questions. It was the exact amount needed for the deductible to pay for the chair.  

That "gift" allowed them to use their own funds and offer to purchase the craft items for our team. Call it an offering of thanks. Having... in order to give. Provided for in order to share. 

Humbling.

You see, we live in a straight ahead fashion - minute by minute. We can only experience the present and recall the past. But even the past gets hazy. As we move forward in time our memories of what God has done for us along the way become thin.

May we never forget what God has done for us - how he has provided - how he continues
to provide.

The disciples did - and often. They couldn't see past their own bewildered noses - standing before five thousand men (along with women and children) and Jesus says to them,
"You feed 'em!"

So they collect the loaves and the fishes. Only they can't see the future or how Jesus is going to bring about a return on the gift of those loaves and fishes.

Jesus gives the credit to his father for providing. He knows how his father works. If you thank God, he provides. If you give away what he provides, you get back ten-thousand-fold.

But, there's just a little bit more to the story. It gets even better.

Priscilla sent a text to tell me they'd received the items in the mail yesterday. It went like this:

5:48 pm - P: The materials for the bracelets came today. Will bring them Sunday.

5:50pm - J: Great! Thank y'all so much!

5:52pm - P: You are welcome. Glad we could do it.

5:54pm - J: Y'all are awesome.

5:56pm - P: And you will not believe the bus card that was enclosed.

When they opened the shipping carton, out fell a business card. It read:

"Working for Jesus doesn't pay much, but the retirement plan is out of this world"

On the reverse side was printed:

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

God provides. God gives. God gets back that which he loves the most - his one and only son...and us in the bargain. I can't wait to see how God will use these gifts from friends like Ron and Priscilla. 

What kind of return will come back from all this provision?