How is your retirement account? Do you have one?
In today’s turbulent world with its rising and falling economies, how is one to find the right place to put the funds in your 401k? This has been one of the greatest fears for so many today… how much will there be in the account when I retire? And how sad that while you do the best you can to ensure success, the end result really depends upon the actions of others; totally out of your control. No wonder there are so many that go to bed in fear of a financial collapse, and wake up to face it again in the morning.
How about your 401J account? Are you adding to it? How easily we forget that our 401J account, our spiritual account, has made us more than billionaires!
2 Cor 6:10 … as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
The word Paul uses for “poor” is ptochos, meaning to be “destitute.” It comes from the Greek word for “beggar,” the word used to describe Lazarus who sat outside the rich man’s gate (Luke 16:20); perhaps the rich man whose 401K was doing extremely well. Ptochos is word that reflects how Paul described his state on more than one occasion…
Phil 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Paul’s focus was not on his 401K account in this world, He was focused on his 401J account in the next. Look back at 6:10b.
While Paul was poor he was totally focused on making others rich; spiritually rich. That term is ploutizo; making someone wealthy. He was not concerned about adding to “his” account, he was totally focused on using the “spiritual billions” in his account to enrich others. He knew how to draw on his account that was overflowing…
Eph 3:8-9 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
Yes, Paul was penniless. Of the things of this world he had “nothing.” And while he held material things very lightly, he “possessed” (held fast) those things that were really valuable with both hands. He would never be a rich man as the world sees it, as is the case with the majority of us, but he was constantly adding to his spiritual possessions… his 401J account… expanding his investments for eternity. Paul had a firm grip on the reality that this world was not his home.
Do we?
Where are we focusing our attention these days? Are we trying to build up a fund for some future date when we decide we’ve done all the “work” we want to do? Have we lost sight of the fact that we are to be “spending” our spiritual funds instead of making deposits? Have we forgotten that the resources in our account are endless? Have we lost sight of the fact that the more we withdraw for the benefit of others the bigger our spiritual account becomes?
I am once again drawn back to those two verses that changed my life. The verses that make it possible for me (for all of us) to focus on our 401J account, setting aside for an incredible eternity with our bridegroom that cannot be measured in terms of today’s 401K. How do we do that? Jesus told us… He made is so very simple!
Matt 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Quit focusing on tomorrow and focus on where the Lord has you today and what He is pouring into you so that you can pour it out to others. Yes we are truly in a position to make others ploutizo. Our spiritual account will always overflow with spiritual riches for others. We just have to allow the Lord to manage it for us… one day at a time!
Wonder if that somehow fits into Romans 8:29…(couldn’t resit)