The “Marshmallow Test” was a study conducted by Walter
Mischel at Stanford. Little children were offered a small reward immediately or
promised double the reward if they would wait for a period of time, usually
about 15 minutes. Follow up on those same children years later showed
that those who choose to delay their gratification, choosing the double reward,
scored higher on tests, completed higher education, and had generally better
health!
What choices do you make when it comes to investing in the
future rather than taking immediate gratification? Many years ago a wise
uncle advised me to take a small amount of money each month and put it into my
retirement account. Every dollar was precious in our little family,
living on a rather small salary. But, I trusted his counsel and today that
account has grown into a sizeable sum of money. Investing demands a vision of
an as yet unseen future, doesn’t it? When I was in my late 20’s, retiring was
just an idea, something old guys did. Now, less than a decade away, I am glad I
made some choices long ago that will, Lord- willing, help me to have a better
quality of life.
Christians who would serve the Lord best, who would
enjoy His rewards, must invest in a place they cannot see, making choices of
faith that rests on the Promise of God!
Jeremiah, the prophet of Judah, whose ministry was filled
with gloomy, grim predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem by her enemies
lived out a parable of future oriented faith before the people. The story is
told in the 32nd chapter of his book. God revealed to him that a
cousin would come to him with a real estate deal. Of course, buying
property while the city was besieged by invaders was, to every appearance, the
height of folly!
Let’s see what he did. “And sure enough, just as
God had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was in jail and said, ‘Buy
my field in Anathoth in the territory of Ben-jamin, for you have the legal
right to keep it in the family. Buy it. Take it over.’ “That did it. I knew it
was God’s Message. “So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I
paid him seventeen silver shekels. I followed all the proper procedures: In the
presence of witnesses I wrote out the bill of sale, sealed it, and weighed out
the money on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy that
contained the contract and its conditions and also the open copy— and gave them
to Baruch … “Then, in front of all of them, I told Baruch, ‘These are
orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Take these documents—both
the sealed and the open deeds—and put them for safekeeping in a pottery jar.
For God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Life is going to
return to normal. Homes and fields and vineyards are again going to be
bought in this country.” (Jeremiah 32:8-15, The Message) Common sense
told Jeremiah that when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, it was ‘game over’ for the
Jews. But, God said, “Life is going to return to normal 70 years from
now.” Jeremiah chose to believe the promise and bought property to put
his money where his mouth was.
Interestingly enough, later in that chapter, he has a
conversation with God about his choices, wondering out loud if he had made a
foolish decision. He says that the siege ramps can be seen outside the city
walls, that there is every evidence of pending destruction. God answers
his doubts. First, the bad news - “I am the Lord, the God of all the
peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore, this is
what the Lord says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it." (Jeremiah
32:26-28, NLT) Then, the good news- "I will certainly bring my
people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my
fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and
safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them
one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for
the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with
them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their
hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me." (Jeremiah
32:37-40, NLT)
Will you say no to that voice of Self that is demanding
gratification today for the sake of receiving the rich rewards of
Heaven?
Will you choose to ‘lay up treasure in Heaven’ rather
than to spend yourself and your wealth on things that are subject to loss?
Will you live by faith investing in the unseen, even when
those around you mock your choices as foolish, naïve, or resulting from
religious delusions?
Here are words from the Word. May the Spirit make them alive
and full of promise for us today. Lord, find us faith-full!
“See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the
righteous will live by his faith— indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant
and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never
satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the
peoples." (Habakkuk 2:4-5, NIV) "But my righteous one
will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who
believe and are saved." (Hebrews 10:38-39, NIV)
Would you pray with me?
Father, my soul and body clamors for satisfaction.
My appetites for things, for comfort, for ease, and for
pleasure
Are strong and the culture in which I live praises the
man who
Feeds himself and feathers his own nest.
So, I pray for the gift of faith to see beyond the
horizon of time.
Speak to me, like you did to Jeremiah, to renew the
Promise.
Holy Spirit, set eternity in my heart and inspire me to
live to give,
To love and to serve, to work and worship with You and
Our Eternal Home to guide me.
For the honor of Jesus, and in His Holy Name, I pray.
Amen.
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