SHOULD WE INVEST IN HUMANITY?
Mark 10:13-16
INTRO.- Since we just finished VBS this last week I want to begin by sharing a few more children’s
stories.
ILL.- A lady said, “As we drove home from church one afternoon, we were talking about a friend who was baptized that day. We spoke of how proud we were of him and my three-year-old daughter asked, ‘What does it mean to be baptized?’”
“My five-year-old son Joshua spoke up and said, ‘OH, BAPTISM, THAT’S WHEN THE PREACHER WASHES ALL YOUR SENSES AWAY.’” Old senses, anyway.
ILL.- A preacher said, “Two weeks before I was to baptize my oldest son, my wife and I were explaining
baptism to him. As we talked, we noticed our four-year-old had slipped out of the room. When I found
him, he was very upset.
“’What’s wrong?’ I asked. With tears in his eyes, he said, ‘I WANT TO BE ALPHABAPTIZED WITH MY BROTHER.’”
ILL.- A lady said, “Our children’s church program recently finished a series on Jesus’ miracles. The
teacher asked if the children had a favorite miracle. My five-year-old Brendan shot up his hand and said, “I LIKED IT WHEN JESUS HEALED THE TEN LEPRECHAUNS!” Close, but not close enough.
ILL.- One preacher father said, “On the ride home from church I always ask my wife Mary what she thinks of my sermon. One Sunday my six-year-old son Seth surprised me by saying I had preached a good sermon. I asked, ‘What makes a good sermon?’
“He said, ‘IT MAKES ME SLEEPY LIKE WHEN MOMMY READS ME A STORY!’”
ILL.- A lady said, “Our six-year-old grandson, Braden, who rarely missed Sunday School was visiting us.
Complaining that he had a stomach ache, his Biblical training showed when he said, ‘BUT I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S MY LARGE OR SMALL TESTAMENT.’”
ILL.- A lady said, “As I walked into my friend’s house, her daughter Greta, 7, greeted me. She showed
me her WWJD bracelet, saying, ‘I always have to ask WHAT WOULD JESUS DO before I do anything.’
“Knowing there was sibling rivalry between Greta and her 10-year-old brother Jon, I said, ‘Well, Greta,
that means you can’t fight with Jon because Jesus wouldn’t fight with him.’
“She pointed her finger at me and said, ‘JESUS WOULDN’T EVEN PLAY WITH JON!’”
ILL.- A man said, “My wife Kelly overheard our four-year-old daughter Jordan talking in a corner. ‘Who
are you talking to?’ she asked. ‘Myself,’ she said, ‘Mommy, can God hear us when we whisper to
ourselves?’
“’Of course,’ my wife said. ‘Oh boy,’ Jordan sighed, ‘I’M IN TROUBLE!’”
ILL.- A lady said, “Barbara, my six-year-old granddaughter, had been praying for a baby brother for
months. So, she was overcome with joy when she saw her new twin brothers.
“That night her prayer was a happy thank-you, ‘Dear God, thank you for sending me a baby brother. But I thought you would like to know he came in two pieces.’”
Brethren, I have a question for you. Should we invest in humanity? In other words, should we invest our time, talent and energy in human lives? Why, of course! Absolutely! Positively! Yes! Without
question!
There is nothing better to do in this life than to give our lives for something that will last forever! Many times we spend our time, talent and energy on things that have no lasting value. Things that won’t
matter at all when we die. BUT TO INVEST IN PEOPLE IS TO MAKE ETERNAL INVESTMENTS.
PROP.- I want to share two thoughts about investing in humanity.
1- God invested in humanity
2- We should invest in humanity too
I. GOD INVESTED IN HUMANITY
Creation, re-creation and children are signs of God’s investment in humanity.
ILL.- A little girl listened to her grandmother read the story of creation to her. After the story, the little girl seemed lost in thought. “Well, dear,” her grandmother said, “What did you think of the creation
story?”
“Oh, I loved it. It’s so exciting. You never know what God is going to do next.”
Brethren, the story of creation is exciting. If we had been there we could not have contained ourselves.
We would have been ecstatic. And all of God’s creation itself is very exciting.
ILL.- There are many mornings that I drive to the church house in the dark and some just as the sun is
coming up. And I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of the sun rising and I can’t help but say,
“Thank you, Lord. How beautiful is your creation.”
I’ve never traveled very much. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon but people tell me it’s absolutely
awesome and beautiful. And there many places right here in our own country that are unmatched in beauty.
Brethren, God could have created a dark, dingy, dirty world for us to live in, but He didn’t. HE GAVE US
A VERY BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO LIVE! AND I WOULD SAY HIS CREATION IS A VERY BIG INVESTMENT IN HUMANITY.
God’s ability to re-create is also a sign of His investment in humanity. I am talking about God sending
His son Jesus to be our Savior.
If Jesus isn’t a sign of God’s investment in humanity, then nothing is!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave...”
Our Heavenly Father made a rather large investment in us when He sent Jesus into our world to become our Savior.
ILL.- Someone told me the other day that Microsoft CEO Bill Gates is planning to leave $10 million to each of his children when he dies and the rest, which will be in the area of $28 billion, will go to charity. And I’m putting in my plug for Mattoon Christian Church!
ANYWAY, I WOULD SAY 28 BILLION DOLLARS IS A PRETTY BIG CONTRIBUTION TO CHARITY!
But it is nothing in comparison to the investment that God made to humanity when He sent His son Jesus into our world to be our Savior!
Jesus not only bore our sins on the cross, He also made it possible for us to be forgiven and become
different and better people in Him! Re-created people!
II Cor. 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation...”
We’re not done yet but we’re in the process of becoming better people and it’s all because of Jesus!
NO ONE OFFERS MORE TO HUMANITY THAN CHRIST DOES! No one! Not Bill Gates, not any President, not anyone!
Another sure sign of God’s investment in people is seen in Jesus’ ministry to children while on earth.
People brought their little children to Jesus so He could touch them or bless them and the stupid
disciples rebuked the people. They tried to stop them and Jesus plainly told His dumb disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14
I’ll always said and believed that if anybody belongs to heaven, children do! Amen?
Jesus believed it, said it and practiced it. He put his hands on the little children. AND LAST WEEK
DURING VBS WE WANTED TO PUT OUR HANDS ON SOME CHILDREN TOO!
Jesus touched the children, He lifted them up, and He prayed for them, He blessed them! And it is highly possible that Jesus spent more time on children than we think or are told about in Scripture.
At any rate, we know that God invested in humanity through Jesus’ blessing the children. And it was
probably one of the best ministries He had! If God invested in humanity, shouldn’t we? Of course.
Which is my next point.
II. WE SHOULD INVEST IN HUMANITY
ILL.- Back in 1968 I bought a brand new Pontiac Firebird. Actually, it was only new car that I ever
ordered. Navy Blue, with a 400 cubic inch engine, 4-speed on the floor, no AC, no power brakes, and no power steering, because all I wanted was power and speed! I got it and it nearly killed me!
I raced that car at the MOKAN Dragway near Pittsburgh, KS. It would run 100 mph in 14 seconds in the quarter mile. I was so proud of that car that I washed it every day and waxed once a week. Sometimes I washed it a couple of times a day.
I spent a lot of time and energy on that car. And guess what? It’s gone now and it doesn’t mean a
thing to me. AND ISN’T THAT SO TRUE OF MANY THINGS IN LIFE?
We spend so much time and energy on many material things which later on and in the light of eternity
mean absolutely nothing. I CAN’T TAKE A CAR WITH ME TO HEAVEN BUT I CAN TAKE PEOPLE!
ILL.- Dr. James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” said, “Though I can make no claim to wealth, I have
tasted most of the things Americans hunger for; new cars, attractive home and gadgets and devices which promise to set us free. Looking at these materialistic possessions from the other side of the cash register, I can tell you that they don’t deliver the satisfaction they advertise! On the contrary, I have found great wisdom in the adage, ‘That which you own will eventually own you!’
“How true that is. Having surrendered my hard earned dollars for a new object only obligates me to
maintain and protect it. Instead of it contributing to my pleasure, I must spend my precious Saturdays
oiling it, mowing it, painting it, repairing it, cleaning it, or calling the Salvation Army to haul it off. The time I might have invested in worthwhile family activities is spent in slavery to a depreciating piece of junk.”
AND HAVEN’T WE ALL FOUND THIS TO BE TRUE TO SOME DEGREE?
And this is why I believe we should invest in humanity. People, children are the only earthly
possessions that we can take with us to glory! Amen?
ILL.- A group of expectant fathers were in the waiting room while their wives were in labor. Suddenly, a nurse came in and announced to one man that his wife had just given birth to twins. He said, “Isn’t that amazing? I play for the Minnesota Twins!”
After a period of time, another nurse came in and announced to another man that his wife had given
birth to triplets. He was nearly overwhelmed and said, “I can’t believe it! This is some kind of miracle. I work for the 3M Company.”
At that point, a third man fell out of his chair and into the floor. Someone asked him if something was
wrong. And he said, “NO, BUT I HAPPEN TO WORK THE 7-UP COMPANY!”
Brothers and sisters, we need to invest in humanity! And one way is by having babies! And of course, most of us have “been there and done that.”
So if we can’t or won’t produce any more babies then we need to keep on blessing the ones we have!
Last week, in our Vacation Bible School some 25 to 30 Mattoon Christian Church people invested their lives, their time, their talent and their energies into about 80 children. AND WHETHER THEY REALIZED IT OR NOT, IT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST THING THEY COULD HAVE DONE!
Let’s keep on, keeping on when it comes to investing our time, talent and energies into children and
people of all ages! It is what Jesus did and it is what the Christian life is all about!
CONCLUSION-------------------------------------------
ILL.- SOME WOULD GATHER MONEY
Some would gather money
Along the path of life
Some would gather roses
And rest from worldly strife.
But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin;
I would seek a golden curl
And a freckled, toothless grin.
For money cannot enter
In that land of endless day,
And the roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way.
But oh, the laughing children,
As I cross the Sunset Sea
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me.
