April 9, 2014: One Billion Dollars

Luke 13:18-19 - Then Jesus asked, "What is the Kingdom of God like?  What shall I compare it to?  It is a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden.  It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."

Think about a dollar bill for a second.  Think about how often we use a dollar bill.  A beverage or snack from the vending machine.  Candy at the checkout lane of a grocery store.  We never hesitate in lending out a dollar when someone needs it.

For most people a dollar bill has become relatively valueless.  We don't feel much loss in giving it away or spending it on meaningless things.

But consider this:  If you invested one dollar bill into a stock and that stock averaged an annual return of 12%, in 183 years one dollar has become one billion dollars!  That's right one dollar becomes one billion dollars in 183 years.  Now I know 183 years is a long time to wait, but consider how little a dollar is compared to a billion dollars.

Despite this mathematical marvel, I know of no one that has earmarked dollars bills for their great great great great great grand kids.  No one is eager to eliminate those trips to the vending machine to save a few dollars, and if they are, then is is to save for a new TV or a vacation.

The problem is this:  Most people see only a dollar and treat it like a dollar instead of seeing the billion dollars and treating it accordingly.

If we only see a dollar as a dollar it will never become a billion dollars for us.  We see it for its current value instead of its potential.  If we flip the script and see and treat things for their potential we will see that potential realized.  This is what the Kingdom of God is like.

In the Kingdom we see things for what they can be and not what they are.  This is called faith.  And we're called to also apply this principal to people as well.  We're called to see people as God sees them not as they currently are.  We're not called to treat the drug addict as a drug addict, we're called to treat them as a son or daughter or God.  If we do this, they are much more likely to realize that potential.

Think about our worship teams.  We all want to have the amazing musicians with the perfect heart to serve. Most people do not come into our teams as finished products, most come as raw materials.  It is our job as worship leader to pastor our teams, and one of the best ways to do this is by seeing and treating our team member as if they were the perfect addition.  As we see and treat people according to their potential, we actually begin to draw that potential out of them.  This is the kingdom of God.