KEY #2: "I" INVEST

Please come with me today to unlock the next inside door with the Second Key:  INVEST.  Add the "I" from today's blog to the "L" from last week and you're on your way to solving the puzzle of the phrase!  (For contest information, see the box on the right.)

Bible verse for the week:  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."  Matthew 6:33
Have you ever made an investment without expecting a return?  Probably not.  For example, we might put money into a CD because it will draw interest.  We may spend four years or more in college expecting to obtain a better job than we could without that education.  We put time and energy into raising our children so they will become good citizens.  But are you aware of the fact that your whole life could be considered an investment?


I have a choice.  I can waste my life. . . throw it away. . .  searching for pleasures that yield instant gratification yet no permanent, positive results.  Or I can give my life to God who will then extend my natural limitations for pleasure and purposes that will last forever!
Picture a sink drainer, a common, ordinary sink drainer.  I'll explain its purpose in a moment.
A close friend once told me this saying:  "Only one life, 'twill soon be past.  Only what's done for Christ will last."
I"ve translated that saying into a practical image.  Here is where the sink drainer comes in.  In your mind's eye, pour a pint of freshly squeezed orange juice through it.  Watch the colorful, tasty liquid spiral down through the tiny holes.  Now pick up the drainer.  What is left?  Yes, the pulp!  Now you have my unique, personal interpretation of the saying:  "Only one life, soon down the drain.  Only what's done for Christ will remain."
The juice represents everything we do, both positive and negative, that will disappear forever when we die.  The pulp represents all we do that effects eternity.  Let's live so that our "drainers" will be full of "pulp" when we leave this world and meet God!
Give your life to the Giver of life.  The returns on your investment will amaze you!