“… commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.” Deuteronomy 3:28 NLT
We can easily see in the life of Jesus that investing in others is the way He did it, showing us the supreme example. He was not just interested in landing on the planet and “cracking eggs of knowledge” on the heads of a few brilliant and well-placed people. He wanted to engage with a variety of people. He loved the crowds, the masses of needy people, of course. But He chose some people specifically in which to invest for the three years He had to minister. He knew that prime time invested in a few would yield maximum results for the many.
Did you know that’s always been God’s way? Think about it: Moses invested in Joshua; Ezra invested in Nehemiah; Mordecai invested in Esther, Priscilla and Aquilla invested in Paul, Paul invested in Timothy. I could go on, but you get the picture. Each became so very significant in God’s plan and mission. God has always been calling people through people. He’s not asking us to develop great programs and present compelling performances. He is asking us to commit our lives to investing in people who will come to know Jesus so well and follow Him so completely that their lives will then be compelling to others.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the legendary German Christian (pastor, author, theologian), frequently talked and wrote about our responsibility toward future generations. Perhaps his most famous quote on the topic is, “A righteous person lives for the next generation.” He also said, “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children.” Can’t you resonate with that? Pastor Bonhoeffer, who was executed under Hitler’s regime because of his outspoken faith and efforts, connected the responsibility of that world to us as believers investing in the next generation and their faith. He says we aren’t to be heroic or successful but to carry out our investment sacrificially in light of Christ's love. He emphasized that our actions, even seemingly small ones, will have a profound impact on those who come after us. His life still testifies that.
Each of us has one life on this planet. When we leave it, we will not only live on in eternity with Jesus, but we will live on in the men and women, boys and girls in whom we invest, the ones we influence for Jesus. We want to encourage them, invest in them, strengthen them in the faith, because as God told Moses about Joshua, those are the ones who will lead the people behind us into God’s future.
- The Good Shepherd has not called me to be a hero. He has called me to sacrificially reorder my life so that I can do what is most important: invest in the faith of the next generation. It won’t be one event. It will be consistent little daily things over time like water flowing – a stream smoothing a stone. Jesus, use me.