God called us into being, made us what we are and set us in that particular place in which he would set us in the midst of his creation. Our task is the work that he has laid upon us. Our strength is the strength that he is willing to give us in his sustaining power. All that we have, even the hairs of our head which are numbered, are solely his possession. He entrusts these things to our care that we may use them consciously, willingly, and devotedly in his service toward one simple purpose unto which all things are set, namely, the glory of his name. We have not one second to live which God has not entrusted to us. We cannot stir one member of our bodies without his power. And when our life is ended we must give an account of our stewardship to our master who privileged us with this service.
Indeed, we are stewards. A steward is a servant, one who takes care of the possessions of his master for the good of the master. A biblical example is Joseph. Potiphar entrusted all that he had to Joseph. After Joseph was placed in prison, the jailor put the running of the jail in Joseph’s hands. Likewise did Pharaoh after Joseph interpreted his dreams. A steward is accountable for all that is placed in his care
We are stewards in that we are servants of God who take care of God’s things which he has entrusted to our care. We do this to the glory of God. We are held accountable for everything entrusted to us. God is the Master based on the fact that God owns everything, all things which are in heaven and on earth. This includes the big things such as the sun, moon, the stars, the earth with all of its trees, plants, and animals, and everything else. There are things that we take for granted such as the air we breathe, that which we call our own, time, our very lives. This is very plain from Scripture. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1). “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof” (Ps. 50:10-12). “Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshipeth thee” (Neh. 9:6).
These principles one must apply to his own life. As young people, what do you do with your time in light of the fact that every second is God’s time? God will ask you some day. It is so easy to waste time in front of the TV, at the computer, on Facebook, texting, and the like. While at school are you attentive to your teachers or do you daydream or simply fritter away your time? At work do you really work or do only the minimal to maintain your job? Each moment wasted cannot be recalled; it is gone. How do you use the tongue that God has given you to praise him? So often one uses this good gift of God to take his name in vain, to talk back to teachers, parents, or employer or to hurt the feelings of others whoever they may be. God has also given us gifts of ability such as singing, learning, helping others, and many other gifts. Do you use them to the best of your ability and to the glory of God?
How about ourselves? Jesus bought us with his blood. Thus he is our Lord and master. A good servant and steward always works as if the master were at his side. Many of the things that we do we do because we think nobody sees us. But God is there and sees us. We do not see him, but he is there and certainly sees us. We should ask ourselves, “Would I want to be doing this if Jesus would come now? Would I do this if Jesus were with me? Would Jesus do this with me?” All things must be done consciously and willingly to God’s glory. In this way we are blessed. He says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Walking in obedience we do what God wants us to do. Then we know in our hearts that we are pleasing in God’s sight. That gives us joy. We must pray for that for we cannot do that in our own strength. We pray to God that he will lead us by his Word and Spirit to be good stewards, that we may see his face in Jesus who paid for our sins. Then we have comfort because our whole life will show that we are children of God. The Spirit will tell us in our heart. And those about us will tell us because they will see it in our actions. Nothing is more precious to us than to know that we belong to Jesus. Thus we walk in thankfulness before our God, happy that we can serve him in his kingdom.