Entrusted

For Meditation

Stewardship begins not with a What but with a Who. Stewardship begins not with who we are what we do, but with who God is and what God does. We know who we are and what we’re called to do when we begin with God. Who is God and what does God do?

In this foundational passage in Genesis 1, we learn so many important things about the biblical concept of stewardship. We learn first that God creates, and therefore is the Owner of all things. While we may believe this and confess with our minds and mouths, the implications of God’s ownership over everything is life changing. 

Second, we learn that God entrusts human beings, made in his image, with all things that he has created. He gives us astonishing responsibility by entrusting us with creation, with our bodies, time and talents, our relationships with fellow humans and even animals, and with everything else he has made.  The English word “steward” comes from the 11th Century, and referred to an official who controlled the domestic affairs of a household. It comes from the roots “sty” (house or part of a house) and “ward” (keeper), literally meaning “keeper of the house.” A steward was the person that the owner put in charge over the domestic affairs of what he owned. Randy Alcorn writes, “A steward manages assets for the owner’s benefit. The steward carries no sense of entitlement to the assets he manages. It’s his job to find out what the owner wants done with his assets, then carry out his will.”

When we truly believe that God is the creator and owner of all things and has entrusted all that he has created into our hands, it should transform the way we live. 

As you prepare for worship, pray that the Lord uses the next six weeks to transform your understanding of your own identity as a steward. Consider your own approach to every day life. How might life change if you lived every day with a deep awareness that God is the maker and owner of everything in your life?

Genesis 1:1-3, 26-31

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over
the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.