Take the Year Off

Lev. 25:18-22

I almost titled this, "Hard to Believe" because it is excruciatingly hard to believe. What would happen if I took the year off from work? A whole year from my trade, from the vocation that God uses to put food on my table, yeah even a table to put the food on. A house for wherein that table may stand, appliances to keep, to cook, and to clean that food. The electricity that powers the things I need on a daily basis is paid for by that vocation. I pay for medical treatment, vacations, fuel in my car, tithes, offerings, and many other fun things I can do with that money. But, take the year off.

That may be appealing to some, until the thought of eating after six months comes to mind. I enjoy a period of rest, relaxation, re-creation as much as the other guy, and to be honest there are times that the prospect of having a year off is inviting. Those are times when I'm very tired and the attraction of it is gone after a good night's rest.

God promised to give enough in the sixth year to provide for the sixth, seventh, and eighth year. Three years in one. I wonder what that looked like. WOW Nancy! We hit the jackpot! Why with such a blessing on the sixth year would I doubt that God had provided for the next two? It would be obvious that He had. Why would I fail to give the land it's rest on the seventh? Maybe I don't believe that the fruit will last that long. Maybe I think it will be extra hard to get the land to produce after overgrowing for a year. Maybe I'm greedy and think I can get wealthy from the abundance while continuing to till the land through the seventh year. Maybe I'm a glutton and consume it all on myself in a year. Maybe its a combination of these.

Israel would have had to save the extra and ration it out for the three years to ensure it was used as God intended and lasted until the next harvest. How do I that today? I could lay up my treasure in a napkin, bury it, and dig it up when I need it. Jesus seemed to frown on that. I could put it in a savings account and let it earn interest. Jesus looked a little more favorable on that, although He wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, or I could invest it. Now that made Him happy. (Matt. 25:14-30)

Invest it then. Invest it? Have you seen the economy these days? Are you living under a rock? Okay Rip Van Winkle, go back to sleep and dream of better of days. Invest it; I'd do better to put it in a napkin and bury it. Show me a good investment, a secure investment, a sure thing.

Okay...

Pro. 19:17; Luk. 6:38. 'Nuff said.

Okay, maybe just a little more craziness. GIVE! That's the investment. But wait, there's more. Because I'm more than willing to give to something or someone from whom I expect to receive my own and more, giving really isn't the problem. I'll give $100.00 if I believe I'll get $120.00 of value. So then, to whom or what shall I give?

To those from whom you have no hope of receiving again.

Whaaaat? Give to someone who can't or won't repay me?

Yup. God will repay me. He will do it through men, but He will repay me. Not only will He repay me, but He will do it with the same bushel that I give by, only He will press the money down, compress it if you will so that the bushel actually holds more than I put in it. He won't stop there though, the bushel will actually be running over. How about that for an investment? Hard to beat, huh?

What if I don't give? Luk. 12:16-20.

What do you know? I'm out of time to study about rationing the abundance. Investing took a lot out of me. I am, however excited about the prospect of proving God with His promise. When will God give me the return on my investment? Well, let's just say that I'll have treasures to receive when God calls me to "take the year off."

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