steward

There have been few things more transformational in my walk with the Lord than the realizing and embracing of my role as steward. Steward over my money, my time, my resources, my giftedness and now, my child. All of it belongs to the Lord and, in His kindness, I have been made steward.

This hit me again on Sunday. Crawford is the type of pastor where you want to write down every word he says - he's smart, deep, and in touch with the Lord in a way that really speaks to me. There were a lot of things that hit me and I would recommend that if you have time, you listen to it. He spoke on family, our home, and the role we play in human history.

The text was Genesis 1:27-28: God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. {28} God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

He talked about how God's redundancy is an exclamation point. See how many times He says we were made in His image? We are not in a nebulous journey toward self-discovery. God created us and declared who we are. We are bearers of the image of God with distinctly different roles as male and female and we have a responsibility to bear that image to the next generation. And this isn't just about people with children. {He could have done a whole sermon on our male and female-ness and the subtleties of our world moving away from male and female distinctions to androgyny....and I hope he does.}

We are stewards of the image of God. "The purpose of marriage and family is to steward God's purposes from one generation to the next. Your marriage and family is not about you, but about a time you cannot see." It is my role as a mom to Henry to teach him what God is like - to give him a sense of wonder about God. Have we gotten too familiar? I want Henry to know God is for him and loves him beyond all measure. I also want Henry to know that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, righteous, bigger and more good than anything he can imagine. I want him to know that God has purposed him for something only he will know and can do.

To be steward can feel like a lot of pressure, but as are many things with God, it's counter-intuitive. If you are steward, it's not your stuff, it's not your image, it's not your show. There are tremendous joys and pleasures in life, but in the end your life is not about you....at all.

Ezekiel 36: 22-32 in my Bible has the heading of "Israel to Be Renewed for His Name's Sake." This is where God tells Israel that he will bring them into their own land. He will sprinkle clean water on them, and make them clean. He will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. They will live in the land that He gave to their forefathers and He will be their God.

Why?

Verse 22 explains : It is not for your sake, O Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. And verse 32 reminds : 'I am not doing this for your sake,' declares the Lord God, 'let it be known to you.'

God is not even renewing me for me....it's for Him. This is tremendous and freeing news to me.

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.
:: 1 Corinthians 4:1,2 ::