Chapter 10: Investments
In the last chapter of “The Titus Ten,” the author writes about the importance of investing. However he’s not writing about investing money, but instead the importance of investing in relationships. He writes about a disciple of Jesus named Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). (Side note: his name was actually Joseph, but the apostles called him Barnabas because he loved to encourage others.) There is power in what we name.
Barnabas spent his life investing in and encouraging believers. One of the most important investments he made was in a Jewish leader named Saul. Saul was someone who hated Christians and dedicated his life to going from house to house trying to arrest them. However, while Saul was on the road to Damascus on his way to imprison Christians, God met him. There was a bright light from heaven that flashed around him. He fell to his knees and was radically saved (Acts 9:4-19). This one moment changed his life forever. It was at this moment that he became the apostle Paul.
However, when Paul tried to join the disciples to preach the gospel with them, they were afraid of him because he already had such a bad reputation. But Barnabas chose to make a risky investment. He brought Paul to the apostles and declared how he had seen the Lord and was a changed man (Acts 9:26-27).
Because of Barnabas’ investment, Paul went on to become one of the most influential preachers and writers that we still read and quote in our Bibles today. Paul was also a catalyst for starting many other churches and making investments of his own in people like Titus.
The lesson we can learn from this story is that people are the greatest investments we can make. Yes, Jesus performed amazing miracles and preached amazing sermons, but His primary method for spreading the gospel was investing in the people around Him.
In fact, Jesus told His disciples as He was preparing to leave them, “You will do even greater works than these.” (John 14:12) What if the greatest investment we can make is not what we accomplish ourselves, but who we help accomplish God’s work?
So today, take some time to pray about who is around you and who you can invest in. And if you say you have no one then get out of your comfort zone and put yourself in environments where you can meet people. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” Proverbs 18:1 also says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire.” The enemy does some of his greatest work in our lives when we are isolated.
The Bigger Picture: No matter if you are an introvert or an extrovert, choose to remain relational and invest in people, because people are God’s mission.
The Bigger Picture 