An Investment for Eternity,
By Dr. Calvin Ray Evans
“. . . Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13)!
What is this amazing promise made to Christians who die in the Lord? How could one’s work follow him after he is dead? How can they rest from their labors and yet their works continue to follow them? God says that He loves a cheerful giver (see II Corinthians 9:7). The Lord encourages us to be givers and not takers. He promises to bless those who give. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over . . .” (Luke 6:38). When it comes to giving, the Lord is much more concerned about our attitude than about the amount.
You see, God does not need our support. He can get along just fine without us. He already owns everything! The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). He gives us earthly life, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being . . .” (Acts 17:28). He also gives us eternal life, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: . . .” (John 3:36). Everything we own can be snatched away in a moment of time (read the early chapters of Job). I Timothy 6:7 says, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
It is said that Alexander the Great made a request concerning his death. He said, “I don’t care how expensive the coffin. I want you to make two holes in it and stick my hands out so that as I pass down the street people will know, that even though I ruled and owned the world, I am going out empty-handed.”
Our earthly wealth and also our earthly poverty ends at death! People of tremendous wealth often provide through their wills great sums of money for certain causes. Possibly part of their motivation is to have some building, highway, hospital or school, etc., named after them. Whatever the motive, many organizations rely heavily on these types of gifts.
Many Christians fail to see the importance of this type giving, thus, the work of God suffers. The greatest gift you will ever be able to give to God’s work is a portion of that which He has allowed you to accumulate in your lifetime while here on earth. The very fact that you have been able to accumulate anything here in this life is indeed a blessing from almighty God!
But you say, “Wait a minute preacher; it is because of my hard work, my investment savvy, my doing without things, my thriftiness, which has enabled me to accomplish this.” Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us, “. . . For it is he (God) that giveth thee power to get wealth . . .”
Many Christians give generously to the work of the Lord all their lives, then, when they die, they make no provision whatever as to how their estate is to be divided. Often this causes much grief in families and sometimes causes them to separate.
I hope the Lord gives me sufficient health to preach until He calls me home. When that time comes, I pray there will be adequate funds to pay all debts against my estate.
In the event the Lord has allowed Doris and me to accumulate any wealth, we’ve had a will for many years providing for the distribution of such assets. I don’t want to burden my children with these decisions.
I’m convinced that every person ought to have an up-to-date will. Most lawyers, for a modest fee, can prepare them.
This allows a person (especially Christians) to not only make their own choice as how to proportionately divide their estate to loved ones, but also to give, as their final act upon this earth, a portion of their estate to the Lord’s work. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord . . . that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).
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