Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
When someone brought news to John Wesley that his home had been destroyed by fire, he exclaimed: “The Lord’s house burned? One less responsibility for me!” How could he react like that? Because he knew that, as the creed says: “All things come from you (God), and of your own do we give you.”
We are stewards, not owners. When our children were born, the first thing we did was commit them to the Lord as his, not ours. Your house, your car, your treasured ‘whatever’ – it’s not yours, it’s God’s. As Abraham Kuyper wrote: “There is not one square inch in all of God’s creation that Jesus does not cry out, ‘Mine!’”
Stewardship is not ownership so much as the management or supervision of something entrusted to one’s care by another. And to be a good steward for God, we need to 1) know his will (through the Scriptures primarily, but also through the revelation of the Holy Spirit and the discernment of others), 2) submit to his will (willingly, not through coercion or manipulation by others), and 3) do his will the right way (for example, King Saul did the right thing but in the wrong way when he offered a sacrifice to God rather than wait for Samuel the priest to arrive and do it).
So today, do you feel like you’re on track? Do you know God’s will, submit to his will and are you seeking to do his will his way? If yes, be encouraged. If no, what needs changing? Is there an idol that needs to be named and dealt with? Often people end up not so much owning but being owned by their possessions. Yet purpose in life is much more important than property or possessions. Having more to live with is no substitute for having more to live for.
Lord, help me to hold things loosely, to be ready to lay them down. I choose to use whatever you have loaned me for your glory today. Amen!
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