Stewardship Reflection: Entering the Journey of Faith
One definition of Stewardship is: everything we do after we say, “I believe”. At its heart stewardship is the intentional use of all the resources and gifts God has given to us to help further the reign of God on earth. Of course, it definitely is about what we do with our money! But it’s also about our time, our relationships with our families, friends, neighbors and strangers, our homes and possessions, our relationship with God’s creation and the use of the earth’s resources, and much more. Following the way of Christ requires acknowledging that God has given us everything we have and developing the practice of thankfulness and generosity in response.
While we may not think of it this way at our baptism we are called into a life of stewardship. At our baptism, we (or someone on our behalf) made significant promises about how we would live out our faith. Our lives are spent learning to live into these promises. The Baptismal Covenant asks us to live in ways which obey the teachings of Jesus. In living out these promises we obey the teachings of Jesus, recognizing that all we have and all that we are is a gift from God: everything belongs to God; and we are called to manage all these gifts according to God's will, which leads to transformation of life.
Jesus said, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions”, (Luke 12:15). Christ is challenging us here to get our priorities right. This is the heart and soul of Christian stewardship. The Baptismal Covenant is a helpful guide – and the promises we made at our baptism can be thought of as a 'Rule of Life' where we dedicate ourselves to:
- Worshipping & praying,
- Reflecting, seeking forgiveness & returning to God,
- Living by Christ's model,
- Serving others
- Working for justice & peace.
- Safeguarding the integrity of all life on this planet.
How might you live this out, day by day and week by week?
- Roberta
BAPTISMAL COVENANT
With God’s help:
I will continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.
I will persevere in resisting evil and, whenever I fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
I will proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ.
I will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving my neighbour as myself.
I will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
I will strive to safeguard the integrity of God's creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth.