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April 15, 2020 - Join Pastor John for a Daily Devotional

April 15, 2020 by Rev. John Hartman

“Investment Day”

Today is April 15, which means it is Tax Day. And even though the government has extended the filing deadline to July 15, April 15 has been the deadline for filing your income tax returns since 1955. It got me to thinking, not so much about taxes, but the places where we have made our investments over the years.

Sir John Templeton was an American-born British investor, banker, fund manager, and philanthropist. In 1954, he entered the mutual fund market and created the Templeton Growth Fund. In 1999, Money magazine named him “arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century.” Sir John Templeton was also a Christian. He annually conferred the largest monetary prize in the world for religion. The amount of the Templeton Prize is even larger than that of the Nobel Prize. Several years ago, John Templeton, who was also a Presbyterian, was speaking in Philadelphia. His speech was billed as, “Come hear John Templeton reveal the secret of his success!” It seemed as if every stockbroker in Philadelphia turned out for the event, which was held in the ballroom of a downtown hotel. John Templeton stood before them and said, “The success of my life is due to tithing.” He continued, “The key to investing is putting your money in undervalued stocks... Today, a life of servanthood is undervalued, the lives of children are undervalued, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is undervalued. Put your money in things of eternal value.”

Now I know we are to “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” – but when we invest ourselves and our resources in in the kingdom of heaven, amazing things happen. Ministries flourish. Care is extended. People of all ages bond with each other. Lives are eternally changed. When you give a gift to the church, and to our capital campaign, you are demonstrating servanthood to our Servant Lord.

In these trying times, where the end is not yet in sight when things will be back to normal, please continue to invest in the work of God here at Chestnut Level Presbyterian. It should not be viewed by you as a tax, or an expense, but it is your gift of investment to Jesus Christ, -- and in gratitude for all of his investment in us as his beloved children.