StewardLife Lesson 28

EXERCISE

Read the comment below and then pause to reflect.

Last night I was thinking to myself, "You know, these two things are pretty much alike."

INSIGHT OUT

Did you find yourself beginning to think of similarities even though the items are so dissimilar? One of the activities the brain most enjoys is to organize dissimilar things. This is why riddles, word jumbles and Scrabble(tm) are good mental exercises. It was the approach Jesus often used: "The kingdom of heaven is like...." For the Christian, it is a reminder to use this natural gift of God to live the StewardLife.

[Image of a Glass]

Is the glass half full or half empty? It depends on whether your view is of scarcity or abundance -- of needs or opportunities.

STORY

The neighborhood gang was hanging out one Saturday morning. Strolling down past a neighbor's house, Terry pointed out that old man Buckley had cleaned out his garage. The pile of junk was sitting at the edge of the alley just waiting for curious boys to sift through. Willie acted first.

"Look at this," Willie said as he tugged at some rusty iron. "It's an old bed frame."

"Hey -- here's some empty paint cans," Chris chimed in.

"Check out these lawn mower wheels," added Jake.

"Here's an old vinyl kitchen chair!"

"And this old laundry tub!"

The gang was on a roll. They continued to search the pile of treasure, pulling out more and more useful items.

INSIGHT OUT

The gang is allowing their brains to do the exercise described before. Lots of disconnected things are being assembled in their minds to create something new and fun.

In 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 Paul says to the church at Corinth: I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way -- in all your speaking and all your knowledge -- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

In Greek, it is a short jump from grace (charis) to gift (charisma). Gifts are grace in action. The gifts of every type that God gives to you are manifestations of His grace. Since God's grace is unending toward you, so are the gifts He gives.

Is your life partly finished or just beginning? Is your glass half full or half empty? Are you a person concerned with diminishing resources or unending supply?

The person living the StewardLife gets new eyes to see life from a different perspective. Like the gang in the alley, we look at what is around us and see possibilities. We view all of God's gifts of time, resources, people, relationships, community, diversity, talent, industry, government as assets -- as capacity or potential -- to build God's kingdom.

As the gang was excited by the find, and began to ask "Look at all this stuff! What can we build from this?" we are surrounded by God's blessings. When we take stock of all this potential around us, imagine what we can make!

As one who lives the StewardLife, keep your eyes open to God's blessings and see them as assets in building something great for life and for God's kingdom.