A very wealthy gentleman offered a poor young boy the opportunity to earn some extra money by watching over his home while he and his family went away for a vacation. Upon returning, the wealthy gentleman discovered that the poor young boy had wasted all his time enjoying the home instead of taking care of it. Judging his performance, the gentleman declared the boy an unfit worker. Unlike this poor young boy, believers must be good stewards of the resources God has graciously given us. We must refrain from getting too comfortable and instead remember that
we are to merely manage these resources. It is essential to remember that we did not earn these resources by merit but instead received them by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Upon his return, all believers will be judged based on their good works for Jesus and his Kingdom. Our salvation cost Jesus his life; therefore, He wants to know how we made the most of that gift. Jesus will evaluate every believer on the use of their time, talents, and treasures.
The evaluation of our stewardship will be accounted for through our faithfulness, productivity and profession to Jesus and his Kingdom. The accountability of our faithfulness will be seen through our consistency and dependability. Could he count on us? Jesus will account for our productivity by witnessing whether we cared about the quality of our effectiveness within our faithful works. Jesus will account for our profession by the measure at which we remained true to our Kingdom assignment despite unfavorable circumstances, in which our witness may have been rejected. Jesus Christ will purposefully, personally, and publicly condemn useless believers for the Kingdom. As a believer, if you are not taking the return of the King seriously, you are missing the principle of accountability, which will lead you to condemnation. Jesus is keeping a detailed record of all the ways in which we are utilizing our resources. In the end, he will ask every believer how we managed the resources given to us. Our responsibility is to accept the challenge of usefulness for the Lord and his Kingdom and use what we were given for his glory.
Getting Started
1. What does good stewardship look like to you?
2. What are some of the challenges of being faithful in your productivity to Jesus and the Kingdom?
Let’s Get Personal
1. How would you evaluate the use of your time, talents, and treasures for the Kingdom of God?
2. Sometimes our witness is rejected, but we must fulfill our call. How will you fare in the judgment of your accountability to your faithfulness to Jesus in difficult circumstances?
3. In what ways are you taking the return of the King seriously on a daily basis?
Take The Next Step
1. How can you improve the use of your time, talents, and treasures to better glorify Jesus?
2. How can you strengthen your witness of Jesus to expand his Kingdom and bring him honor?
3. Want to go deeper? Take time to look at the following passages: 2 Corinthians 5:9- 11; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Peter 1:17; Matthew 12:36- 37; Matthew 10:42; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Mark 10:28-31; Romans 2:12; 1 Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 3:23-24; 2 Timothy 2:12; Matthew 16:27; Ephesians 2:8- 10; Revelation 21:4; Ephesians 6:8; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Luke 19:17; 1 John 2:28; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Matthew 19:29; John 12:26; 2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 22:16; Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 10:35-36; Hebrews 9:15; Romans 8:17; Matthew 25:14-30; Hebrews 10:29-31; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5; Matthew 8:12; Matthew 13:38; Matthew 22:11-14; Isaiah 30:15; Acts 3:19; Mathew 3:2; Matthew 3:8; 2 Corinthians 7:10-11; James 4:1-10; Matthew 12:41; Matthew 22:1-14
Renew Your Mind
He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’ Luke 19:26
