Unseen Dividends

Those who invest in God’s kingdom seldom see the full results of their commitment.

Believers who work sacrificially to oppose abortion and defend life may never meet the babies whose lives they saved or see those babies grow up to become parents and grandparents.

Those who distribute Bibles may never know how people respond to their outreach.

Many of the missionaries who faithfully planted the seeds of the gospel in pre-Communist Cuba and China did not live long enough to see the results of their obedience.

Joseph didn’t know when he saved his family from starvation that he was preserving a nation through whom the Messiah would one day come.

Moses didn’t know when he gave Israel the Ten Commandments that they would form the foundation for the Judeo-Christian worldview across centuries to come.

Paul didn’t know when he “fought the good fight,” finished the race, and kept the faith, that his obedience would shape the world for more than twenty centuries (2 Timothy 4:7).

You and I cannot measure the eternal significance of present faithfulness.

The river touches shores the source never sees

I make this point because it can be discouraging to serve Jesus when we cannot see the outcome of our commitment. If you invest in the stock market today, you’ll see the results tomorrow. If you invest in building a new home, you’ll live in it when it's completed, but with God’s work, as Oswald Chambers noted, "the river touches shores the source never sees."

So know this: When we assault the gates of hell, the gospel wins (Matthew 16:18). When the light shines in the darkness, the light wins (John 1:5).

Every dollar and every moment you invest in God’s kingdom will bear an eternal result that far outweighs its present cost. And such investments not only glorify God—they give our lives purpose, direction, and significance.

C. S. Lewis noted: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Because Christianity is of infinite importance, it is worth all we trust to God and more.

Lewis warned us: “Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.”

A life spent for God is a life God will use today and reward forever.