Do You Have a Great Retirement Plan?

In 2021, I retired from UPS with thirty-two years of service. Not a whole lot of thought went into the decision: God told me to do it, some changes were coming with regard to pensions, I had the time and the age-- it was sort of a no-brainer. But if I'm being honest, God had been telling me to do it since 2014. At that time, however, I would have simply had to quit; I couldn't imagine God was telling me that. But the bills! And medical insurance?! I'm walking away from a part-time job that pays more than most full-time jobs, for what? So, I stayed, too long. 

This morning, I was reading Mark 10:29-30:

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life."

John Piper says this is "radical recompense." He paraphrases:

Jesus says, “No one ever sacrifices anything for me that I do not pay back a hundredfold — yes, in one sense even in this life, not to mention eternal life in the age to come.”

In his sermon on this passage, Piper explains that those who give up family, say, to go into faraway mission fields, may be compensated by the "family" that surrounds them in that place, those with whom they develop close relationships or those who constantly support them in prayer and compassion. So, Jesus is able, is willing to pay back what is given in sacrifice. Not a bad deal, right? But see, here's the thing: the "reimbursement thing" only applies to that which is given in sacrifice. Check out the word in Mark 10:29-30, the one that comes after the laundry list of things received "a hundredfold." The word is "with", and it means accompanying, next to. Those things we give up are "repaid" to us with persecution. Well, that sounds incredibly unappealing!

Think about it in these terms: Many have left their homes to serve on the mission field. It has come with feelings of unimaginable loneliness and frustration. Some have had to move several times due to warring factions or famine. It was not what they anticipated. However, they came to know Jesus as their "home," the greatest home they could ever desire. Is it making sense now? The bottom line is, following God is going to mean sacrifice-- whether the Holy Spirit nudges you to put a little more in the offering plate, or give that person who has never been pleasant toward you a ride to the grocery store, or leave a really good job for...? But Jesus Himself gave us His word that we would be compensated 10,000%-- and not simply for doing it, but for wanting to do it and doing it, no matter how bad it gets.

How many of us are sacrificing with regard to our finances today, taking additional deductions from our bottom line each week for stocks and 401Ks, just hoping for future security? How many of us are giving up Saturdays to get in some overtime, just hoping for a comfortable future? How many of us are foregoing those memberships or vacations today, hoping instead to enjoy them in the future? What are we willing to sacrifice for a future guaranteed to come, a future guaranteed to be better than anything we can imagine, a future planned and prepared by the Alpha and Omega? I wish I'd trusted Jesus enough in 2014, to find out. I wish I'd been willing to suffer then, for His sake, that I might have known sooner what He would do. But I'm trusting Him today. I'm willing to do what He says. And I'm trusting His promise, I will be compensated in ways I never could expect. Does your retirement plan measure up?

(Photo courtesy LuAnn Martin)