Well, I got tripped up on a verse today I’m sure wasn’t there the last time I read Luke’s Gospel. Ok – it probably was there But once again I’m blown away at how alive God’s Word is. It speaks to me every time!

The verse is 16:9. Jesus is speaking:

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

I read this verse, then re-read it. Did Jesus just say we are to buy friends so we can get into heaven? Surely not.

Of course not!

Matthew Henry helped me understand it better. Then, after looking more closely at God’s Word, I got to thinking about the TV show “Shark Tank.” Those rich people are wise and shrewd with their money. They spend it to gain more. Sometimes they take chances and you think they are throwing their money away. Sometimes they pass on what I think would be a great investment. But every dollar they spend is done with calculated intentionality. And they usually end up with a big payoff.

Jesus, in summing up the parable of the house-manager, is telling us to use what is ours to invest in eternity, in eternal souls. I am reminded that everything we have is God’s – entrusted to us to benefit the kingdom.

God is asking, do I use my house, my car, my bank account, my “worldly wealth” as a means of reaching out to lost and needy people for whom Christ died? Am I spending what God has given me to gain more eternal souls for Him?

So much of what I read in Luke today seems to be calling me to take inventory, then to start investing in people for Jesus’ sake. We are given to give, blessed to bless, saved to tell others.

Read these chapters and see if God doesn’t challenge you to be the faithful son, the competent manager, the obedient servant, and to use what you are given for the glory of God.

You’ve heard “you can’t take it with you,” right? You know when you stand before God you will not be wearing that diamond ring or driving that Mercedes. Jesus says “WHEN it is gone,” not IF it goes. The only thing you will take into heaven with you are the people you have lead to the Lord. That’s it. So let me ask you this…

What kind of shark are you?