Stewardship of What Belongs to God
Devotional
READ: John 6:1-13
After developing a mindset of generosity, we must acknowledge our responsibility to steward God's blessings. Webster's Dictionary defines stewardship as "The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care." We must act according to what God has entrusted in our care. Let's focus on the boy who provided his loaves of bread and fish. What would I have done if I were hungry, and someone asked me for my food? Would I have been greedy, deciding not to share or keep the food for my consumption? The boy rightly chose to give what he had over to God, which allowed Him to multiply those resources to help meet the needs of many people.
God has blessed each of us in many ways throughout our lives. Even if you do not consider yourself to have much, God has blessed you immensely. For example, the gift of being a good listener may seem simple, but it could mean the world to the person needing to be heard. You never know how God can use and multiply the smallest of perceived gifts or resources to advance the building of his kingdom. We are called to use these blessings in a way that promotes the growth of God's kingdom and invests effort into developing His blessings to enhance their impact on the world in which we live.
God has blessed me with the gift of being handy, and I enjoy working on projects. Much of what I learned was passed to me by my earthly father; he never missed an opportunity to teach me how to do things. His spiritual gift is teaching, and he poured it into me when I was younger, just as I see him do with his grandkids now. Currently, the demands of my job leave little time for me to help others as much as I would like. I have identified that I could be more intentional about stewarding my time more effectively to advance my skillsets and be available to help others when needed.
The Parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25, has helped me understand this concept. God has entrusted us all with unique gifts and resources. Each can, if used correctly, help advance God's kingdom. We can increase the spiritual impact by stewarding these gifts and resources well. We are called to use it wisely regardless of the magnitude of what we have. Just like the first slave in the parable, "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.' His Master said, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your Master." (Matthew 25:20-21), we should intentionally multiply the blessings that God has provided us so that we may use them to further His kingdom.
I pray with my kids at night, and part of our routine prayer is to ask God to "bless us so we can bless others." I hope that the more they hear that phrase or concept, the more likely they will have a natural mindset of generosity.
After developing a mindset of generosity, we must acknowledge our responsibility to steward God's blessings. Webster's Dictionary defines stewardship as "The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care." We must act according to what God has entrusted in our care. Let's focus on the boy who provided his loaves of bread and fish. What would I have done if I were hungry, and someone asked me for my food? Would I have been greedy, deciding not to share or keep the food for my consumption? The boy rightly chose to give what he had over to God, which allowed Him to multiply those resources to help meet the needs of many people.
God has blessed each of us in many ways throughout our lives. Even if you do not consider yourself to have much, God has blessed you immensely. For example, the gift of being a good listener may seem simple, but it could mean the world to the person needing to be heard. You never know how God can use and multiply the smallest of perceived gifts or resources to advance the building of his kingdom. We are called to use these blessings in a way that promotes the growth of God's kingdom and invests effort into developing His blessings to enhance their impact on the world in which we live.
God has blessed me with the gift of being handy, and I enjoy working on projects. Much of what I learned was passed to me by my earthly father; he never missed an opportunity to teach me how to do things. His spiritual gift is teaching, and he poured it into me when I was younger, just as I see him do with his grandkids now. Currently, the demands of my job leave little time for me to help others as much as I would like. I have identified that I could be more intentional about stewarding my time more effectively to advance my skillsets and be available to help others when needed.
The Parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25, has helped me understand this concept. God has entrusted us all with unique gifts and resources. Each can, if used correctly, help advance God's kingdom. We can increase the spiritual impact by stewarding these gifts and resources well. We are called to use it wisely regardless of the magnitude of what we have. Just like the first slave in the parable, "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.' His Master said, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your Master." (Matthew 25:20-21), we should intentionally multiply the blessings that God has provided us so that we may use them to further His kingdom.
I pray with my kids at night, and part of our routine prayer is to ask God to "bless us so we can bless others." I hope that the more they hear that phrase or concept, the more likely they will have a natural mindset of generosity.
Personal Reflection
Take some time to identify and write down all the ways God has blessed you and think of ways they can be shared. Remember that these things do not need to be physical possessions; some examples aside from possessions are spiritual gifts, personal health, and wisdom, to name a few. Now, evaluate your current handling of these things. Can you identify opportunities to steward these blessings in a more meaningful way?
Posted in UR Devotionals
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We've always tried to live with the motto; the more we get the more we are able to give (bless) others. We have been intentional in raising our children now adults the same
God has blessed me to be a leader, and lead at school and in basketball. I can share these gifts to bring people closer to God and each other.