Investing for Love

December 11, 2023 by darrelvoth 1 Comment

I read an Advent reading today challenging us to deepen our giving as an act of sacrifice in the way that Jesus did. It was well-written and came out of what is true.

As I meditated on this, I noticed in my life how this concept has too often been twisted by those in power. As I continued in meditation, I was confronted by the example of Mary and of Jesus and, as always with the Spirit of Truth, I was welcomed into a bigger, deeper, more beautiful Way.

The call of the reading was that through our gift-giving we would purpose to not participate in the culture of exchange and greed but rather to participate in the love and redemption of sacrifice for others as Jesus did. What came to mind was the difference of sacrificing because of love and investing for love. What I’m used to hearing is that true love, real love, God’s love, sacrifices all with no expectation of anything in return—use me up and discard me if need be and I will joyfully embrace it because of love.

I don’t see this in Christ or his mom. I don’t see sacrifice because of love, I seen investment for love. God incarnated fully with us in order to grow love, connection, and union. Mary bore, birthed, breastfed, and cared for the infant Messiah and invested herself in faith into a mysterious promise of shalom from God through him. Both God and Mary expected something in return—that’s not sacrifice, that’s investment! Was it costly? Yes, profoundly so, and it was an investment for a return of more and growing love.

Let’s be alert for any system or mindset which is content to fuel its growth or maintain its position through your sacrifice with no tangible returns of a growing goodness, justice, connection, joy, gratitude, satisfaction, community, love. To walk the way of Christ and follow the Spirit takes courage, creativity, deep rootedness, connection, intention, humility, grace, and deep love and faith.

So as we buy our gifts, create our menus, decorate our homes, and send out cards, let’s intentionally be looking for where there is life wanting to grow, and let’s invest there in faith of a return.

And what call for investment would be complete without a disclaimer? The returns we should expect may not look how we expected or come when we expected. We’ll need to nurture an open posture that’s able to notice God in unexpected ways—from the delivery, to the packaging, to the contents and their use, the gift of God is often surprising in ways that are so much better and more beautiful and transformative than we could have ever conceived or wanted on our own.