“Let a man so regard us as the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:1-2
What is your most treasured possession on this planet and how do you care for it? It brings to mind a documentary I watched a while back on the wonder that is the Fabergé eggs. As they showed the different custom-crafted jewel-encrusted eggs to the camera, the one holding them donned spotlessly white gloves. The care, love, and value shown for the eggs were apparent, they hold great worth and need to be cared for as such. It also brings to mind great words of wisdom from my high school football coach concerning how we were to care for and carry the football. “Son”, he would say, “when you’re on this football field this ball is the most important thing in your life, take great care of it.” Oh well, in either case I think you get my point. So, what is it in your life today that gets the white glove treatment, being carefully handled and cared for with love and hypervigilance? What item is in your house that gets a place of honor, dignity, and respect, up on a shelf in the spotlight for all the world to see? And as you consider that one thing, now compare it with where the truth of God resides in your life. Ouch, did I really just go there?
Feudal Europe of the 11th century birthed our modern word steward. A steward was “the master’s deputy in regulating the concerns of the family, providing food for the household, seeing it served out at proper times and seasons, and in proper quantities. He received all the cash, expended what was necessary for the support of the family, and kept exact accounts, for which he was obliged at certain times to lay before the master.” (Clarke) So in essence the steward was the managing servant that orchestrated and operated the family affairs of someone of nobility whether it be prince, lord, duke, or marquis. The steward held the utmost power as he held the keys to the castle, the keys to the vault, and most importantly, the keys to what really went on within the family. He held the secrets and the mysteries of the family he served.
The apostle Paul authored the book of Corinthians. More factually, it was a hand-written letter he penned to the church of Corinth, a church he started during one of his missionary journeys documented in Acts 18. Paul would have been very familiar with the concept of stewardship but he would have rather known it by its Greek word, οἰκονομία, which is a combination of two words roughly meaning “to rule a household.” And how very clever that Paul uses this very word to speak of a follower of Jesus and how they are to care for the tremendous thing of value in which they have been entrusted…the truth of God.
When you hold the Word of God, the Bible, do you truly realize what you are holding in your hands? You are holding a collection of 66 books written over a 1,600 year span by around 40 different men in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic as they were being carried along by the very Holy Spirit of God as they simply wrote down the message God had given them. When you hold your Bible you are holding the very Words of God that have been recorded, preserved, and protected at great cost from the ravages of a sinful world that has done everything in its power to destroy it, discredit it, or negate it. Yet here we sit in 2023 with God’s Word still intact. And did you know that as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ that God has entrusted you with His Word? And just exactly why? Well, to simply give it out to a world that desperately needs it.
It should no longer shock me at how good the world is at giving out its message, but it still does. Our world today sells us a message to serve ourselves first, follow our hearts no matter where it leads us, do what feels right, be whoever we think we are, and that anyone that contradicts this selfish worldly message is a bigot, a hypocrite, or a hate-monger. But within this crazy worldview, where is genuine and absolute truth to be found? You see, there can be only one true north on the compass. Can you imagine 2 norths on a compass? How would you ever truly get to where you intend? And folks, no matter what modern psycho-babble or current philosophical worldviews you hear, there can be only one absolute truth in this world. It’s not your truth, my truth, and their truth...it’s only God’s truth. For those like me that have called upon Christ as Savior and have been anointed with the very Holy-Spirit of God, you have learned that the Maker of this world, Almighty God, also made its truth….one truth. And that pure truth is at war with a self-serving, sinful world.
Today, you are a steward of the most precious item that has ever been introduced into this world. The truth of God that declares that even in spite of all mankind inheriting a sin-nature, they can have that sin forgiven and be reunited with God for eternity. And folks, God has made His own sons and daughters stewards of this good news, that is, the gospel of Jesus Christ. As you consider this weighty piece of information, I have a hard question for you to ask yourself in the mirror. How faithful of a steward are you being with the truth of God today? Are you living in a way that promotes that you practice what you preach? (Matthew 5:16) Are you in a daily study of God’s truth, His Word, so that when God presents you the opportunity you can proclaim it with confidence? (1 Peter 3:15-16) Is the truth of God stored up in you to the point that when you speak it is the first thing that comes bubbling out? (Matthew 12:34-40) Do you buy into the current views of this world or do you stand firm on the timeless truth of God’s Word that doesn’t change with the latest fads? (Matthew 24:35) So as a result of the above, when was the last time, as a steward of the truth of God, that you shared the soul-saving gospel of Jesus Christ with another?
If you cringe at answering some or all of these, don’t fear or beat yourself up, instead make a change. Commit to a daily study of God’s Word and commit to learning and living His truth. Pray and ask God to make you an ever-better steward of His most valued message, the coming, crucifixion, and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ. As a good steward of the truth of God, ask Him to fill you up with His truth each and every day so that when you speak, the abundance of your heart overflows with that truth. And in this way, in this daily walk as a good and faithful steward, you will see God move you from master of little to master of much.
May you today become an ever-increasing faithful steward of the truth of God
Ricas bendiciones ~ Dan
"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your Word is the truth." John 17:15-17, Jesus' prayers for His disciples
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