A devotion by Mona McDonald, Vice President of Pursue Life Adult Ministries
ABCS Core Value: Be a good steward with what we have been given.
Each of you should use whatever gift you received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:10
One of my friends is a gifted artist. She teaches others what she knows, sells and gives away much of her beautiful work and then creates more. As a Christ-follower, one of her other gifts is being a faithful encourager. Years ago, she sent a scripture passage tightly rolled and placed in a ceramic vase to a pastor serving on a faraway island. This gift was intended to encourage him to not give up in doing good and he placed the gift on his bookshelf as a reminder. God gives his children gifts to be used for the benefit of others. What gift(s) have you and I been given to manage and who is benefiting? You and me, or others? Stewardship is a significant responsibility. When we understand our responsibility to be good stewards, we feel the weight of it. It compels us to give our best to what we’ve been given*. My friend creates with the intentions of encouraging others and pointing them to God. The important principle about stewardship is that it’s not about the amount we’ve been given but about managing well what we have*. Imagine the surprise and the rare blessing that took place, while on a recent international trip with my artist friend, when this pastor met the artist who encouraged him so long ago. Let’s be faithful today with what we have and use it to serve one another.
*Taken from The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership by Jenni Catron