The most incredible investment opportunity in the world is offered by God. Everybody can get in on it. There are no commissions or loading fees and no capital gains taxes.
The whole point of this devotional is to provide education about this investment opportunity because a lot of people are simply ignorant that it exists. I certainly was!
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, explains the phenomena of God’s incredible investment plan. In this letter, he thanks the church for their support. Rather than looking for more money from them, he is VERY excited about their eternal investment opportunity. In Philippians 4:17, he writes:
“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the FRUIT that ABOUNDS to YOUR ACCOUNT.” Philippians 4:17
Paul uses the word karpos for “fruit,” and in a financial context it means “the profit or return that comes from an investment.” He pairs it with pleonazonta, which means “increasing” or “abounding” in a way that keeps growing—like interest that keeps accumulating. The phrase “to your account” translates to eis logon humon. The word logon is the same root used for “account” or “ledger” in bookkeeping. In Paul’s day, these were commercial terms. The idea is the interest that will excessively accrue into their bank account.
What follows are four important truths that we should know that will passionately inspire us to take advantage of God’s investment plan.
1. On the day we were born again, God opened up a heavenly bank account for us.
Anytime we use our money with a motivation to glorify God and not glorify ourselves, we are making a deposit into that bank account. The Bible teaches us about how to add to our bank account:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
When Christ measures our bank accounts at the Judgment Seat of Christ, some will have much and some will have little, but at that point we will be unable to make any more deposits. We will only have ourselves to blame. No one else can make a deposit into our account for us, and we can’t deposit into anyone else’s account either.
But the great news is that God doesn’t add to our account based on how much or little we have. He bases it on how we give what we have. Remember the widow with the two mites? Jesus explained His accounting method right then and there:
“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’” Luke 21:1-4
The widow invested more than the wealthy even though her two mites equated to what would buy only a small amount of food. But Jesus said it was more than all the rest. Thus, we don’t need to be intimidated by not having a lot of wealth because God is going to give us an accounting based on what we have, not what anyone else has.
2. What we deposit in our heavenly account accrues interest—even here on earth.
Paul explains this in the rest of Philippians 4:17. As stated earlier, he uses the word karpos for the “fruit” or “profit”—the return on investment. He pairs it with pleonazonta, which means it increases excessively or keeps on abounding like interest that continues to grow. The phrase “to your account” comes from eis logon, where logon is the commercial term for a ledger or financial account. The interest God pays, according to the Greek text, is exorbitantly high—and it’s not just in heaven, but also here on earth. The following verses are clearly talking about earthly rewards. God promises blessings that come back to us in this life, and they are blessings so large that there will not be room enough to receive them:
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38
Just to be clear, this is not the prosperity gospel; it is a Biblical investment principle.
The prosperity gospel teaches that if you give money to God (or to a ministry), He is obligated to make you rich, healthy, and successful in return. It pressures people and treats God like a cosmic vending machine. What the Bible actually teaches here is different. It is an investment principle. When we give with the right motive—to glorify God rather than profit or glorify ourselves—God promises a tangible return. We will discuss what that return looks like in the fourth truth.
3. The interest God pays is exorbitant.
This is the language of major financial return. Jesus actually explains the weight of the interest for our return in Matthew 19:29:
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
To put it in investment terms, a hundredfold return means you get back 100 times what you invested. If you put in 1 unit, you receive 100 units back. That is about a 10,000% return (because 100 times the original equals a 9,900% profit on top of getting your original amount back — commonly rounded to 10,000% in this context).
No investment company on earth can offer anything close to this kind of return.
So why would we invest just a teaspoon of our money when this kind of return is available to us? Dude, I want to get the dump truck out, don’t you? You and I are deciding here and now what measure comes back to us. We are the only ones measuring our giving. Giving isn’t giving up something! This inspires me to want to passionately desire to give out of a heart of loving obedience, which turns my giving into an investment—and a really good one. We would be crazy to turn down an investment opportunity like this, right? But this is the unprecedented investment opportunity offered to every single follower of Jesus Christ who has been born again.
4. What this return looks like on earth and what it will look like in heaven
Maybe you’re saying that you haven’t seen that 10,000% return—in other words, you have given a dollar and not seen a $10,000 return. But, my friend, God has all kinds of ways of showing us a return here on earth in ways that are far more valuable than money. For example, think about…a promotion at work, good health, a healthy family, a car that is running, safety on the road, or our children walking with the Lord. We can look at all of these things and think that OUR actions are the reason these things come to pass, but the fact: is we have zero control when it comes to anything ultimately happening. Lots of people teach their children about the Lord and the children walk away. Lots of people live a healthy lifestyle but don’t have good health. God fulfills His 10,000% return in many ways besides sending us a check. Money can’t buy so many of the best things we value. It reminds me of James 1:17:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17
The more we see God for who He is and what He does, the more we become aware of the 10,000% that He is already paying us. Another example—there are so many things that have NOT gone wrong in our lives. This awareness also awakens our desire to give for God’s glory as generously as we possibly can as He leads us. We give because we are simply grateful and thankful for all that is going right in our lives. This knowledge of God’s return does not produce a desire to be mercenary or to give with the motivation of receiving. Instead, it produces cheerful, generous giving, just as the Bible commands:
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Conclusion: My friend, if you’re willing to invest aggressively, God is willing to return aggressively.
You will never outgive God, and God will never be your debtor.
When we challenge each other to give liberally and generously, we are doing each other a huge favor because giving to God is going to reward us outrageously—both here and now and in heaven. Whether it’s earthly blessings, spiritual fruit, or eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The measure we give is the measure we receive. Luke 6:38
The only money we take to heaven is the money we transfer to our heavenly account here and now. I don’t want to get to Heaven and regret that I did not transfer more. Do you?
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for opening a heavenly account for us the day we were born again. Thank You that every time we use what we have to glorify You instead of ourselves, we make a deposit that no one can steal. Open our eyes to the interest You are already paying—here on earth and to the hundredfold waiting in heaven. Help us stop seeing giving as a loss and start seeing it as the best investment anyone could ever make. Make us generous as You lead, not out of fear or greed, but because we are grateful for all the ways You have already returned more than we deserve. Keep us from the regret of wishing we had transferred more while we still had the chance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
