AM I PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT? (Lessons from The Church on the Beach)

Luke 14:33-35: “In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. [34] “Now,   salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? [35] It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”   CSB

OBSERVATION:  Am I planning for retirement, or am I counting the cost of discipleship?  Planning for retirement speaks of planning, saving, and then enjoying one’s golden years.  Living in Florida, one cannot miss the world’s view of retirement.  It includes living in a wonderful 55+ community, sitting by the pool with friends, enjoying a round of golf, and then a fine dinner at a wonderful restaurant.  It is a life reaping the rewards of good planning and saving.

So, how do we reconcile this with Jesus’ call to renounce all our possessions and take up our cross to follow Him?

These are the kinds of verses in the Bible and the teaching of Jesus that you either have to explain away or sincerely wrestle with in your spirit.  How do you balance such a radical call with the balancing truth of good stewardship?  There are Scriptures in the Bible that speak of stewardship and the call to leave an inheritance to our family.  Surely, this could not be done if we gave up everything!  So, what is Jesus saying?

The context of this statement is Jesus’ call to take up one’s cross and follow Him.

Luke 14:26-27: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. [27] Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Wow!  First, I have to deal with Jesus telling me to renounce all my possessions, and now He is telling me to hate my family?  If we are not careful, we could build a cult around these verses!  With careful reading, we find clarity in these words: “…yes, and even his own life…” Jesus was not calling us to hate our family but to put Him first in everything!  We cannot be a disciples of Jesus Christ while we put anything else – even our own lives before Him.  We must count the cost of discipleship!  We must lay everything down at the altar, including our own lives and everything we have planned, before we can pick up our cross and follow Him.

This strikes one as severe and impossible when you hear it the first time.  Remember the story of the rich young ruler?  Jesus called him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor – and then follow Jesus.  The rich young ruler left sad and disillusioned because he had great wealth.  The disciples were equally befuddled and said, “Then, if this is the case, who can be saved?”  Jesus answered them with this powerful statement.

Matthew 19:26: “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

With God, all things are possible. I have found that God will never call us to a life that will destroy the dreams and desires of our hearts.  God’s desire is to give us the kingdom.  His plan for our lives is the best possible expression of His love for us.  The rich young ruler never got to experience the God of the impossible making his sacrifice possible.  God was not as interested in the divestment of his material goods as the investment of his heart.  We can only have one God.  We can carry our stuff – or lay it down and carry our cross.

How does this apply to our life and planning for retirement?  Let me share a true life example from two of my heroes.  Pastors Buff and Lana Ness pastored a Foursquare church in West Texas.  They were friends and colleagues of mine. I always enjoyed the fellowship we would have at our District events.  God used both of them mightily in West Texas.  Their church grew and was blessed.  They were able to build a new sanctuary and leave a strong church as they planned their retirement.  They were going to build their dream retirement home and settle down in Texas.

I had not seen them for quite some time.  The next time I saw Buff and Lana, they shared with me how God had called them to leave their retirement home and go back into the mission field.  At retirement age, Buff and Lana traveled to Salinas, Ecuador, and became part of a church planting, which is now called “The Church on the Beach.”  Since 2014, the Church has grown dramatically.  They now have services in both English and Spanish.  The Lord enabled them to build a church building debt-free.  They are spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, leading men, women, and children into His freedom, and they are still going strong!

They left their retirement dreams to fulfill God’s dream!  And, in the process, they met the desires of their hearts!

Now, everyone is not called to sell their retirement home and go into the mission field.  Yet, each one of us is called to put Jesus first and be on assignment.  Our call is not to rest in comfort in our “golden years.”  Rather, our call is to take up our cross and follow Jesus as He leads us.  This perspective keeps life exciting and adventurous.  To follow Jesus is never boring and always leads us to the desires of our hearts.  It takes the routine of life and intersects it with the purposes of God.  God is never done with us.  Just like Buff and Lana, Jesus is calling us to move forward with a life that invests in others and builds the Kingdom of God.

What that looks like will be different for every person.  Yet, the call is the same.

Take up our cross – and follow Jesus!

Let me tell you what I think would have happened to the rich young ruler.  I don’t believe Jesus was calling him to live the life of a pauper.  God was calling the young ruler to live a life of freedom.  I believe if this man would have cried out to God – “I want to give up everything and follow you, but I don’t know if I can.  Please help me!” – Jesus would have met him with His great grace.  The young man would have been set free from his covetousness and propelled into a life of prosperity that was marked by benevolence.  No longer would material things control the young man, but he would steward material things for the Kingdom of God and the benefit of others.

When we die, we cannot take our 401k with us.  We will not be rewarded for the trips or cruises we have taken.  There is nothing we can take with us but the seeds we have sown into the lives of others that bear eternal fruit.  This is why Jesus called us to store up riches in heaven where moths and rust do not consume.  Jesus is the ultimate retirement advisor.  He is calling us to live a life of freedom, purpose, and eternal reward.  We can focus on saving for the short period we call our “golden years” and miss the full blessing of our “eternal years.”

Christians don’t retire – they refire!  Like a rocket, they refire and are redirected into the will of God by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know if I will ever get to visit The Church on the Beach.  Yet, I feel a part of it as I share in their Facebook posts and listen to their testimonies.  Buff and Lana Ness are heroes in the faith.  Their lives challenge me to make my “golden years” count for the Kingdom of God.  I hear the voice of Jesus calling me this morning to let go of the things I am clinging to and take up my cross to follow Him!  He is not calling me to sell everything and live in the street.  He is calling me to lay everything at the foot of the cross and follow Him into the adventure of faith and the fruitfulness of His plan for the rest of my life.

Where will that take me?  I don’t know.  Yet, as I pick up my cross this morning, it is with a fresh new excitement to see where God will lead.

Heavenly Father, help me to put You before everything and everyone in my life, including myself, so that I freely and joyfully give and live and You direct!

In Jesus’ Name!