A Liquid Investment

 

Photo by Zaynabazam7 2018

In a dream I had recently, I have an IRA account through American Express. I need to determine the asset allocation of the account, so I ask my son, who is a banking executive, if I should choose Stocks, Bonds, or Liquid Investment. He says stocks and bonds are risky right now, so I should choose Liquid Investment. I do that and expect to get a statement by mail or email, but instead I get a package delivered that contains a huge jar of Manuka honey!

In contemplating the meaning of the dream, I realized that choosing our investments must be done wisely, not only in terms of finances, but in terms of how to allocate our time, talents, mental and physical energy, and priorities. A liquid asset generally refers to cash, or to an asset that is easily converted to cash for immediate use because there is a constant demand for the asset, and because the price fluctuates little. It is therefore generally safer than stocks and bonds.

A liquid investment would therefore be one that can be used immediately for one’s benefit, or stored safely for future use with little or no risk of loss. So why, in the dream, did I receive a huge jar of Manuka honey?

To meet our healthy living and wellness goals, my husband and I have adopted a primarily Mediterranean diet, emphasizing fruit, vegetables, legumes and fish, with mostly white meat rather than red, and some dairy.  Interestingly, the diet is rich in foods that Jesus and others in Scripture ate or referred to favorably, including fish, eggs (Matthew 7:9-10), whole grains (John 6:35; Ruth 2:23), pomegranates and olive oil (Deuteronomy 8:8).

We also try to incorporate “superfoods” that are known to improve health and counteract aging and disease, like broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, bamboo shoots, and, yes, Manuka honey, which benefits immunity, digestive health, wound healing, and other health concerns! The Promised Land was described as flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8), clearly considered to be desirable and healthful foods.

Although Manuka honey is very expensive, how can one put a price on good health? As the saying goes, people often spend the first half of their life ruining their health to accumulate wealth, and the second half depleting their wealth to restore their poor health.

Scripture also warns us to take care of our body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We are to honor God in our body by refraining from sin (Romans 6:23) and nurturing the flesh so that it can serve God longer and better (Ephesians 5:29; Romans 12:1), and by avoiding alcohol (Proverbs 20:1) and unhealthy food (Proverbs 23).  Yet physical exercise, while important to our health, is of less value than godliness, or spiritual exercise, which involves prayer and meditation on God’s Word (1 Timothy 4:8).

I therefore believe the dream also alludes to the importance of feeding on Scripture. God’s judgments, or laws, are described as more to be desired than much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). God’s words are sweet to the taste, and sweeter than honey to the mouth (Psalm 119:103), just as pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones (Proverbs 16:24).

So it appears that the dream was a reminder to value God and His Word above all else, and to trust Him and not in uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17). We are to lay up our treasures in Heaven, where they will reap eternal rewards, ever increasing in value and never stolen, ruined, or useless (Matthew 6:20). Those who trust in their material wealth have no power to redeem another soul –only God can do that (Psalm 49:6-15).

This interpretation was confirmed by a devotional that was part of our reading on the morning after the dream, which was entitled “A Ludicrous Investment.” It referenced Jeremiah’s purchase of the field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin – an investment that seemed ludicrous because the country was at war and the land was being ransacked. Yet God, foreseeing the future restoration, commanded it, and Jeremiah obeyed, to the benefit of his people (Jeremiah 32:8-9).

In contrast, Jesus told the parable of the man who trusted in his own possessions to guarantee his future. He had accumulated so many material goods that he had no room to store them. Instead of giving away the excess to the poor, he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger barns so that he would have no need to work. He thought he would live comfortably and even party for many years, but God called him a fool for not realizing his soul would be required of him that very night, and then whose would his possessions be? (Luke 12:16-19)

Even worse, the implication is that he was unsaved and would spend eternity in hell.  We cannot give God and the world’s economic system the pre-eminence in our lives, and if we trust in the latter and put it first in our hearts, how can we be saved? (Matthew 6:24). The deceitfulness of riches will choke out God’s Word from growing in our heart (Matthew 13:22). Hence it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, but with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:21-26).

In my dream, the honey, or God’s Word, was referred to as a liquid investment – not only because honey is in the physical state of liquid, but because God’s Word has instantaneous as well as eternal benefits. Through it we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2), guided by its light, cleansed by the water of the washing of the Word (Ephesians 5:26), kept from sin (Psalm 119:11), and given comfort, hope, peace and joy!

One of the many Names of Jesus Christ is the Word (Revelation 19:13). As the Word, Jesus Christ created all that is, was and ever will be (John 1:1-3), and He became flesh to live with us (John 1:14); to die as the perfect, sinless sacrifice to pay our sin debt; and to rise again so that all who trust Him will have eternal life (John 3:16). What could possibly be of greater value than that?

Those who are not born again (John 3:3-8) by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven might consider time spent in God’s Word a foolish investment. But may we who are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) be like Jeremiah, following His Word and knowing that we shall always profit from its lessons, infallible Truth, comfort, cleansing, and power!   

© 2022 Laurie Collett