Stewardship is . . . a Justification Thing.

Notice that we did not say that stewardship was a justifying thing. Stewardship is not an attempt to justify our lack of being good stewards. For our Lord knows that we are sinful human beings and that we are as prone to bad stewardship as we are of being sinful people.

Stewardship is not justifying our lack of giving, either of our time, our talents, our treasures, our tissue (being good stewards of our bodies) and of whatever else we might be stewards. Stewardship is the Holy Spirit working in and through us to move us to be good stewards. Just as we cannot, by our own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him, and we cannot do the good that we would like to do, so we cannot be the good stewards that we would like to be, except that the Holy Spirit should move us to do so.

Does that mean that it is the Holy Spirit’s fault if we are not good stewards? No, because sin is always our own fault. Doing good, doing right, that is what we do only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What does this mean? This means that we daily repent for our sins. We daily repent for our not being the people God would have us to be. We daily repent for our being not good stewards of what our Lord gives to us. We daily repent and pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to amend our ways and would guide us to being good stewards. We thank the Lord for His forgiveness, won for us by Jesus death on the cross. We thank the Lord as He reminds us that all that we have is a gift from Him. We thank the Lord that He stirs in us to be given the good gifts and blessings that He gives; faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. And we say, to God be the glory.

30 of 52 © Rev. Ronald A. Bogs