On Stewardship II

Rudy Rasmus:  “Jesus was convincing me that He wanted me to live for Him: completely, totally, and absolutely.  That was the only reasonable response to His sacrifice for me.  As my heart changed, my values changed.” (from the book Touch, p. 32)

How do we become Christian?  We sign up to follow Christ.  But why?  Because we recognize that we need Jesus.  It is not because we are so smart or so special.  The first step to recovery is admitting that we have a problem.  Likewise, the first step to redemption is admitting that we need a savior.  We could have a deep theological discussion about hardened hearts and ears that do not hear, we can say it was grace that allowed us to recognize our own wretchedness.  But the reality is: we got to this place of redemption because of Christ.  We are walking in forgiveness, daily.  If we as Christians could really grab hold to this and keep it on our minds, we would live more liberated lives.  This is so meaningful.  It goes back to why we come to church.  What is your motivation?  I see church as a place to come to meet Jesus.  I see it as a place to come and see my fellow travelers.  On this faith walk we need encouragement.  We need community.  If we are walking in our forgiveness, we recognize that we have been given a wonderful gift.  One good turn deserves another.  Our relationships ought to be better because we are in a constant mode of forgiveness.  Our purpose should be clear because we are following Christ.  What did Christ do?  He went around the world improving the lives of others.  Wow!  That statement right there changed my life.  That’s how I keep this calling on my life in perspective.  If you pass by the newsstand, you might notice that almost every single month O Magazine features an article about becoming the person you were meant to be, doing what you were meant to do, finding meaning.  And some years ago, Rick Warren became extremely popular with his book The Purpose Driven Life.  So what does this tell us:  people are struggling to find purpose.  Newsflash: Christians ought to know how to live on purpose.  We ought to be living our best lives now.  God has called us to be stewards.  And God has endowed us to be able to do it well.  That’s what ‘favor’ really is.  In that Matthew 25:31 passage, we are given in detail what we ought to be doing.  We sure do complicate things.  Jesus is so clear.  He says love God with everything in you and love your neighbor as yourself.  You will hear me say this every time I preach, I’m sure, because these are the commandments that Jesus says are important.  He says go and make disciples and teach them what I taught you.  Well, this is what I taught.  It’s not complicated.  It’s hard to do, but it is not complicated in terms of what the expectation is.  Why is it so hard to do?  Because it is work.  But remember: you are a steward.  You signed up to work.  If you don’t want to do that, take your name off the list.  I’m a realist and I’m super practical.  If you joined this Christian faith community, you signed up to follow Jesus.  Now, I hope you read the fine print.  See Jesus led a life of sacrifice.  He was indeed the sacrificial lamb.  The ultimate scapegoat.  Jesus went all the way to the cross.  He suffered.  He would not sell out on what He knew to be right and just.  When I compare our idea of sacrifice and what Jesus did I have to laugh.  How many of you participate in Lent?  Think about what you gave up.  Most people give up something that they don’t need or shouldn’t have in the first place.  We give up sugar.  We give up pork.  We give up coke or diet coke.  Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days.  Then, in his weakened state, He rejected everything that Satan offered him.  Essentially, Jesus said no to the world and yes to the full and complete will of God.  He said no to the status quo.  He said no to racism, sexism and classism.  He said no to wealth and oppressive power.  He said yes to me.  The outsider.  The one at the margins.  The one in exile.  The one enslaved.  He said yes to me.  I cannot say no to Him.  All that I am is because of Jesus Christ.  I cannot take any credit.  When we come out of ourselves and recognize that we didn’t get here on our own, then we can take this thing called stewardship seriously.  We will welcome the opportunity to make the sacrifice.  The reason that the Jewish people keep the Mezuzah on their front door, the reason they recite the Shema is to remind them who brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of bondage.  They are never confused about their liberation.  We must remember that we, too, are liberated because of Jesus Christ.  Let's follow our Leader and get to work for the cause of the Kingdom.  It is our only "reasonable response to His sacrifice."

Update 2025:

Still relevant! We must be about the business of working to build a Christ-worthy kingdom. Theology is one of my favorite topics of discussions. However, if we look at how Jesus dealt with his peers, we note that he was not interested in the ins and outs of theological conversation, but he was wholeheartedly invested in the people that would benefit or be harmed by a misinterpretation of commonly held beliefs and ideologies. Jesus was about his father's buisiness. In other words, he was busy making his faith work the way that it should---to build a better world.