Faith in Action

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies. - 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NRSV)

Within stewardship lies the secret to Christian success. In the world, one becomes successful by inventing something, by making significant money, or by becoming popular - finding acclaim from the world - and that is how we achieve success. But success in the Christian world comes through devoted stewardship.

One of the most profound gifts the Christian faith gives us is an ability to emulate God. In Jesus, we see the primary attribute He calls us to emulate, in addition to love, is humility. And so proper stewardship is always humble, because it never seeks gain or benefit for itself. It seeks the goal - and at Brick Church, our goal is to spread the spiritual blessings of God to anyone and everyone, especially those in deepest need.

But Jesus promises us God will reward us. It is not monetary but something much greater than any earthly acclaim or awards. It is the reward of an inner sense of purpose, of accomplishment, of doing something greater than ourselves, and of truly reflecting the heart of Christ.

In New York, we are used to working very hard for things and spending a lot of time planning and preparing. If we only spend five minutes planning and preparing our stewardship, then the rewards will be the same as in the professional world: non-existent. You can't work for five minutes and hope to get a profound return in the business world, and neither can you in the spiritual world. It takes real investment, and it begins with sound planning - and that sound planning begins by thinking through your stewardship to God.

We can do an accounting here. Mathematics and finances are a big thing in New York, and so if you were to do an accounting of your life - of all of your resources, of what you have gained from God's gifts - and measure that, how would what we give in return compare? If you were to attempt to measure what you gave back to God, where would you find yourself on the ledger? Would you be in the black? Would you be in the red? None of us, of course, can actually be “ahead.” So the only thing we can do is gratefully serve and listen.

And the profound uniqueness - the secret to Christianity - as Saint Francis told us, is that it is in giving that we receive. In fact, we can only ultimately receive once we give. When we give in a meaningful, significant way, that's when we receive the full benefits of the Christian faith, which are the words God speaks to us: Well done, my good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master. What could possibly be more rewarding than to bring God joy? 

May the Lord bless our stewardship this season so that all may experience the abundance of God’s love.