The investor must give by faith. It’s not a faith in “faith,” but a faith in God—that God will see and respond. “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” Hebrews 11:6. When we give generously by faith, we don’t know how and when God will “repay,” but He certainly will. God’s blessing is a promised reward for faith-based obedience. A “payback” is real and assured, but the specific form/quantity/media are not predictable. The blessings for faith-based obedience can take an endless number of expressions—even beyond our comprehension.
As it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him,” I Corinthians 2:9 NKJV.
Furthermore, we must remember that God owes us nothing. We live and breathe only by His grace and sustaining power. As God sustains us, He rewards those who seek Him. He promises to reward those who obey Him and God always keeps His promises. He is the perfect promise keeper.
Faith starts small. It may start as small as a few dollars. Jesus likened faith in God to a mustard seed. A mustard seed was the smallest of the garden seeds used by the Jewish famers during the time of Christ, yet the mustard plant grew to be larger than all other garden plants. How does this apply to giving into your RRA? Let’s look at how Jesus dealt with the rich.
Making Deposits
In three separate Gospel accounts we read of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young ruler. In response to the young man’s quest for spiritual guidance, Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven,” Matthew 19:21.
We find more information in another report: “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said, ‘One thing you lack: Go and sell all that you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow Me,” Mark 10:21. If Jesus felt a love for him, why would Jesus give him bad financial advice? In the third version, “Jesus said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me,’” Luke 18:22. All three writers make it clear that the way to get treasure into heaven is by giving to the poor. As someone once quipped, “You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.”
Unfortunately for him, the rich young ruler did not think much of “treasures in heaven.” He was rich with treasures on earth, and did not want to convert his earthly treasures (despite their vulnerability to moths, rust, and thieves) into heavenly treasures. Perhaps he thought that once the treasure is “in heaven” it is totally inaccessible. If that was his thinking, he made a big mistake.
Tom Lipp