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The Owner Of It All
Contributed by David Dewitt on Aug 11, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: God is the owner of all things and we are just the stewards of what He has entrusted us with! This is a newsletter devotional for stewardship month
The Owner of it All
2 Corinthians 9:8
Newsletter Devotional
Is all of that stuff that you have really yours? Does it really belong to you or is there something else at work in this life?
I think that for the most part, the church as a whole does not understand the concept of stewardship because the church has failed to teach the principles of biblical giving for decades.
What is a steward? A steward is a person who manages the property of someone else.
Stewardship is God’s resources deployed through His people to mobilize His people to evangelize. – Stan Toler
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
One of the most important things we need to realize as Christians is that God is the ultimate source of everything. All that stuff that you “own” really comes not from your provision but from God’s Do you really think that if the God of all the universe did not want you to have that car that you drove to church today you would still have it?
Everything that you have belongs to God; yes I said everything. The money in your purse or wallet and in the bank accounts, it came from God and therefore, belongs to God. The house that you live in, it belongs to God. The car that you drive it too belongs to God. The family that you have, they belong to God. The spiritual gifts that you have been blessed with, they belong to God. The life you live that belongs to God as well.
Everything comes from God and therefore He is the owner. If He owns it all, we are just the managers of what he has. Our biggest problem in all of this is the fact that we get the roles reversed and we think we are the owners of all our stuff. So, we start acting like the owners and start calling the shots.
The best example for this is our church trustees. The role of a trustee is to manage and care for the physical operations of the church. Do the trustees own any of the property of the church? Of course not. Do the trustees have a responsibility for the care of the church? Absolutely!
The same is true of you and what God has given to you. You don’t own it but you are responsible for it.