April 25th, 2020

An Eternal Investment
 
“Children are an heritage of the Lord"   -Psalm 127:3 
                                                                     "Train them up in the way they should go…"  -Proverbs 22:5
 
    There was a knock at the front door. The missionary to Kenya arose excitedly and made his way across his tiny cabin to answer it. Through the screen he could see the very dark face of his first houseguest. He pushed the door open and smiled at the man to help ease his apprehension.  During their conversation, the missionary noticed the man eyeing, with particular interest, his recorder.   “What does it do?” the man asked.
   
    The missionary answered, “It’s a wonderful machine. I can talk to it and it remembers what I say. What’s better, I can say very important things into the recorder, and long after I am dead, others can still hear what I have said.”  The man did not seem impressed, which confused the missionary.
   “Have you seen anything quite like this?” the missionary interjected.
   “Yes,” the man replied, ”we have many of these in our village.”
     The missionary was really puzzled. He knew this type of technology did not exist in this culture. He probed, “What do your people call these machines?”
 
    The man shook his head. “They’re not machines. They’re our children. What we say to them remains in their hearts for the rest of their lives. When we die, anyone can look at our children and understand all that we said and did while we were alive.”
 
    The missionary nodded and smiled, realizing how true were the words of this simple man.
 
    What a wonderful opportunity the Lord has given to each of us in the ability to invest eternal qualities into our children and those who are nearest to us. Qualities that will reap eternal reward. Be diligent in spending quality time, God-honoring time with them. 1 Corinthians 15:58 states that, "…your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
 
    Now is the time to love. Tomorrow the baby won't be rocked, the toddler won't be asking why, the schoolboy won't need help with his lesson, nor will he bring his school friends home for some fun. Tomorrow the teenager will have made his major decision.  Love today. Spend time today. Invest today for results tomorrow.
 
Walk in wisdom toward them…redeeming the time.   - Colossians 4:5
 
                    Rearing kids is like holding a wet bar of soap--too firm a grasp and it shoots from your hand,
                            too loose a grasp and it slides away. A gentle but firm grasp keeps it in your control.
 
Pastor Rudy