“When God made man, male and female, in His own image, He gave them dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). He made them stewards of its resources, and they became responsible to Him as Creator, to the earth which they were to develop, and to their fellow human beings with whom they were to share its riches. So fundamental are these truths that authentic human fulfillment depends on a right relationship to God, neighbor, and the earth with all its resources. People’s humanity is diminished if they have no just share in those resources.
By unfaithful stewardship, in which we fail to conserve the earth’s finite resources, to develop them fully, or to distribute them justly, we both disobey God and alienate people from His purpose for them. We are determined, therefore, to honor God as the Owner of all things, to remember that we are stewards and not proprietors of any land or property that we may have, to use the in the service of others, and to seek justice with the poor who are exploited and powerless to defend themselves. We look forward to the restoration of all things at Christ’s return (Acts 3:21). At that time, our full humanness will be restored, so we must promote human dignity today.”
John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) in his last book, entitled, The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010) 70-71.
What have we learned this Lent? Our prayer time has blessed us with space to connect with God in a noisy world, our fasting has positioned us to feast on what is true and good, and in practicing generosity we have been training ourselves to serve as conduits of God’s material and spiritual blessings.
Moving forward, will we function as “stewards and not proprietors”? We will act like we own the place, or rather, take our place in God’s economy of all things that has been restored in through the work of Christ on the cross. Now that we know this mystery, what way of living will we choose?
He has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:9-10