The Challenge of Stewardship

Every day we are called by Christ to respond in some way. The more practice we have at giving of ourselves freely and living in His presence, the easier it is to discern that call. Once we hear the call, the choice is ours: will we respond with yes or no? We could say that we are not required to say yes because God has given us free will. However, our response speaks much to where we are in our maturity of faith.

When we were children, the word “no” used to be one of our favorites. If we continue to say that as we get older, well, that says something about where we are in our walk with the Lord. If we truly are disciples of Jesus Christ and are serious about growing in our faith, we will say “yes.” We are not required to say yes, but we say yes because that is who we have become.

This is the challenge of a stewardship way of life. Have we matured enough to say yes when God calls, regardless of how much our answer may cost us? What matters more to us: what it will cost us or our relationship with Jesus? Some days we will easily be able to say yes. The grace and love he gives us will be plenty to see us through whatever situation in which we find ourselves. However, we are imperfect beings and there will be days when we are more into ourselves than him. It is on those days that we find ourselves at a true crossroads of a challenge. The choice is always ours. Hopefully, our faith will be strong enough. His call is never for his own sake. He calls us because the world he created and the Church he instituted need us. They wait just as he does for our response.

Tracy Earl Welliver