Prioritizing Stewardship for God’s Kingdom Mission: Generosity

Jesus was a master story teller. The Gospel of Matthew shares one of Jesus’ stories in which a rich man leaves his wealth with his servants while he goes away on a journey (25:14-30).  You may already be familiar with the story. When the rich man returns, the first servant (who was originally given five bags of gold) shares that he has doubled the wealth left in his care.  The second servant (given two bags) shares the same news.  Unfortunately, the third servant simply buried the single bag of gold out of fear or losing the money or squandering what he was given. The rich man rewards the first two servants and takes the bag from the third servant.

This is a story that illustrates the often used phrase that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

Throughout November we’ve been reflecting upon various aspects of stewardship. This passage from Matthew illustrates a core tenet of stewardship: our “possessions” are what God has entrusted to our care. Within God’s kingdom, we are only stewards of what he has given to us to oversee.  Our jobs, our homes…even our families…are all gifts from God for us to steward and manage well.

One of the interesting elements of the story that is left untold is what each of the first two servants did to “put his money to work” (v. 16, NIV).  What investment did each make to move the wealth and work of the rich man forward?

At Winebrenner Seminary, we exist to equip leaders for service in God’s kingdom.  We are working intentionally to be a wise “kingdom investment” to advance God’s Kingdom priorities.

Next week we’ll begin a new series highlighting some stories of transformation from the lives of our students.  For this post, I simply want to say thank you for those who have chosen to invest in God’s kingdom work through Winebrenner Seminary.  May this serve as a word of encouragement for you as you continue to live a life of Christ-focused stewardship.