Time To Intentionally Process Again

  So, we are all taking alone time today to process the sermon from church today. We read Luke 16:16-31. Initial thoughts are that we talked about being effective stewards of the riches we've been given by God. These riches include but are not limited to gifts, strengths, relationships, and communities. I'm looking up the definition for steward. Here are some of the definitions: to supervise arrangements or keep order at; to manage or look after (another's property). How interesting that it says another's property. That seems to pull together exactly what the speaker was trying to say today. These riches are not our own. We must use them and manage them effectively. Also, we are like the rich man in the story if we believe that we deserve these riches or have earned them. We have done nothing to deserve such things; as a matter of fact, we have done everything to not deserve them. The speaker challenged us at the end of the message to take a look at our lives and figure out how we are managing what God has given us. How does God want us to manage these things? Another interesting thing that the speaker said was that we do not receive gifts in order to feel purposeful. I think that is a natural feeling when serving God and managing the riches he has blessed us with. But, he has given us these gifts to serve his Kingdom and his people. We tend to want to use the riches we have received to feel important and seem value. Truly, though, we have value because we are Christ's. We have identities in Christ and that is why we are important and that is truth. Now, how does this relate to my life? I need to be careful not to think I am worthy of being praised for the riches I have. They are not my own. I want to feel blessed to have been chosen by Almighty God to have these gifts and be trusted to use them to further his Kingdom. This is hard to do, but must be done. It is okay to celebrate these gifts and make sure you know them so that they are used effectively. I also think they help us understand each other more and work together well, but we must remember why we have them. It is hard not to use gifts to validate ourselves and compare ourselves with others. The only thing we can do it let God use these gifts and surrender them to his will. This is true freedom, isn't it? We were given gifts by God, so comparison is invalid. We were created for specific purposes, what will comparison do? Additionally, this relates to my life because I need to be intentional about how I am using the gifts God has given me. This could mean giving freely or holding back. How am I using the riches God has blessed me with to give to the Kingdom?