Stewardship

Today I was challenged to steward my life for eternity. What does that mean? Well I’m still trying to figure that out… but here’s a start. The word Steward comes from the Greek words oikos, meaning “house” and nemo, “to manage.” So stewardship concerns the management of a household. In a Biblical sense, I think of stewardship as taking care of what God has entrusted to us. Stewardship challenges me to manage God’s house, heaven, while I’m here on Earth. But how can I manage God’s house? Why would He leave me with this huge task that I doubt I can even accomplish? Well first off, God wouldn’t. God knows that you are completely capable through his spirit to do this.

God has entrusted us with the Great Commission and to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:19

When I hear this, I immediately focus in on the word “entrusted.” When we entrust a person with something, we expect that they will take care of it the way we would. For example, I entrusted my pet fish with my friend so I could be here this weekend. I knew that I would have to leave and would not be able to feed my fish by myself, so I asked someone whom I trusted and knew was capable to do it. If I didn’t think she would feed and take care of him, I wouldn’t have even considered asking her in the first place.

Although making disciples is a bit more important than feeding a pet fish, I believe God’s attitude towards us is similar. Would God entrust us with something that he felt we could not accomplish? Absolutely not! He even promises us the resources we need to do it! God gives us power through the Holy Spirit to make these disciples. How could I expect my friend to feed my fish had I not left her fish food to do it with? In the same way, how could God possibly expect us to make disciples of all nations without equipping us? He doesn’t. His power is ready and available to work through us! I pray that we would all be good stewards and good managers of the kingdom by accomplishing the work God has entrusted to us!