Long-term ROI

Ever wish you could have gone back in time and invested in a then little-known stock that was oddly called “Amazon”?  Back in 1997, Amazon was an online bookstore that was trying its hardest to prove you don’t need brick-and-mortar locations to sell books.  If you had grabbed on to that early vision and bought $500 of its $18/share stock and simply held on to that investment, here’s how you would have fared:

·       The stock has split four times, meaning your initial investment price is now $0.075/share.
·       Due to these splits, every one of your initial shares has become 240 shares.
·       On December 29, 2025, the share price closed at $232.07, which means the current value of your shares is now $1,508,535.
·       You have received an ROI (return on investment) of 301,607% !

Back in 1997, you never would have guessed that your modest investment into an online bookstore would end up with the world-wide reach and global impact that Amazon has scaled to now…but you would have still reaped the profits, even though you didn’t see them coming when you invested.

There’s a guy in the Bible who also made an investment that may have seemed a little risky, but also reasonable at the time, and yet his investment later became staggeringly profitable in ways that I’m certain he never saw coming.

When you read the leading verses to the New Testament books of Luke and Acts, you find the same person mentioned – Theophilus.  Most scholars believe he was the patron of Luke, the one who financed and supported the writing of these two books.  Writing a book of this length was quite expensive in the ancient world, because of the time and resources needed.  It was also common to dedicate the commissioned work back to the patron who supported it.  Take a look at the beginnings of both books:

Luke 1:1-4
Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us.  So it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.

Acts 1:1-2
I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up, after He had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

Luke’s aim was so that Theophilus would know the certainty of the things about which [he had] been instructed.  It’s quite likely that Theophilus was a new believer and he wanted to know everything he could about Jesus’ earthly ministry.  Putting yourself in that position, it would make sense to commission a trusted, educated man like Luke to carefully investigate the stories about Jesus.  Having a historical record on hand would also provide the opportunity to commission copies of the books to be distributed out to a wider audience.

However, I’m pretty certain that Theophilus did not expect these two books to be included in the New Testament cannon.  However, God knew the full impact of the commissioned works.  Just think about the larger impact the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts has had:

·       They have been cherished, read, and studied by believers for nearly 2000 years
·       Every Christmas season features Luke 2 as the central passage describing the birth of Jesus.
·       The historical details which Luke included in both books have provided significant evidence supporting the accuracy of Scripture as a whole.

Those are just a small portion of the books’ history-making impact, created by Theophilus’ funding of a project that he likely expected to be for him and for perhaps a few others in his time.  There’s no way he would have predicted the global, historical influence of his investment.

My thoughts from this example come back to us… What are we investing in now for God that He could use to make a generational-level, even historical-level impact?  Are we intentionally funding those who create content that tells others about who Jesus is, what He did, and what He taught? 

I don’t have any idea what else Theophilus did with his money, but I am thankful that he spent some of what God entrusted him with on an investment into God’s people.  It wouldn’t have been a small sum of money, either.  I’m sure there were other things he could have bought, too.  But by choosing to invest in God’s Kingdom, Theophilus’ ROI is greater than he could have ever imagined… and his investment is still going!

So, again, I have to ask: Where in the Kingdom of God are we investing?

Trust God with your investment, and let’s see Him expand the reach greater than we can imagine!

Keep Pressing,
Ken

You are my proof

I heard the statement recently “The only thing God is building right now on this earth is His church.”  After pondering over this idea for a while, I believe the person saying it was right.  The speaker was driving home an important point: the only things continuing on from this life to the next will be the people who have believed in Jesus for eternal life.  Everything else will be made new (Revelation 21:5).  This doesn’t mean that everything else – careers, homes, sports, buildings, hobbies, etc. – are considered “evil” or “worthless”, because these events are what God uses to develop and grow us.

So this means that the only eternally lasting work we can do is to build up Jesus’ church.  We can accomplish this work through one of two ways: 1) helping unbelievers understand and accept Jesus’ free offer of eternal life, or 2) encourage and develop those who already believe.

There are many ways to accomplish either of those pursuits; however, we also have to recognize that our time on earth is limited…which means we want to make the most of our time, especially when it comes to investing in other believers. 

At times in his letters, Paul expressed concern that he had not invested properly, that those he had shared both the gospel and his life with were not good “proofs” that his time was well spent.  Other times he commended his former pupils on their development after he had invested in them.  Here are just a few examples:

To the believers in Philippi, Paul wrote to encourage their progress in their relationship with God and how well they imitated Jesus to those around them.  He described how their growth was a benefit to them individually and to the further spreading of the gospel…but also to Paul, himself:

Philippians 2:14-16
Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.  Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.

When Paul was correcting the believers in the region of Galatia for becoming confused by false teachers, he didn’t question their salvation, but he was concerned about their fruitfulness:

Galatians 4:11, 5:7
I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted…You were running well.  Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth?

When checking up on the believers in Thessalonica, Paul spoke proudly of their progress in faith and love.  He joyfully told them:

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?  Is it not you?  Indeed you are our glory and joy!

When I look at two of Jesus’ most famous parables, The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and The parable of the minas (Luke 19:11-27), I find that Jesus is looking for a good return on His investment of gifts and abilities in each of us.  When we Christians do give an account to Jesus, what else can we give as evidence other than the lives we have ministered to, invested in, and enriched?  After all, Paul was writing to Christians when he said:

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.

Just like in The parable of the talents and The parable of the minas, the master will return and He will evaluate what we have done in His absence.  The judgment seat of Christ is only for believers; unbelievers will be judged at a different time.  As such, the judgement seat of Christ is not a place to determine our eternal destiny, instead it will be the time when Jesus determines our eternal rewards and opportunities to serve in His kingdom in the life to come.

I am proof that Joe Rheney did not run in vain.  I am not the only proof of his efforts, but I will be evidence – and I want to be good proof for a man who loved and invested so much in me.  I will also be proof for any Godly investment made by others at various times in my life – my parents, grandparents, teachers, friends.  Similarly, you are my proof that I did not waste my time blogging my Bible study.  It is my hope and prayer that you find good encouragement, a clear explanation of Scripture, and Godly challenges here.  What return on investment (ROI) is there for God if all I have learned and experienced with Him is kept solely for me?  Put simply: If I am not sharing who God has made me into and what God has taught me, then I am not fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission. 

I know, this is a lot to take in all at once.  And not many churches emphasize this topic.  If this is new to you, or if you are suddenly feeling overwhelmed, here are a few application points to consider:

·       Paul invested in different people for different seasons of life.  Similarly, there will be different seasons when we invest, on God’s behalf, in others.  It’s also likely that we will not always invest in the same way or in the same physical location.
·       If you have children living at home – they are your primary ministry.  Not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t be investing in others, but your children must take priority over all others for this season.
·       The servants in both The parable of the talents and The parable of the minas were responsible for and received rewards based upon how much ROI they had from the master’s initial investment in them.  They were not judged in comparison with each other.  As such, we should not beat ourselves up if we are not “Paul the Apostle” or “Billy Graham”.  Instead, we should focus on being faithful with whatever skills, abilities, finances, and time God has given to us.

Truthfully, this topic can be summed up in just two questions:

Who are you proof for?
and
Who will be your proof that you did not waste God’s investment in you?

Keep Pressing,
Ken