Stewardship

Okay, so we have talked a lot about stewardship over the last few years.  One of the themes of our friendship.  We keep reminding ourselves that we are stewards, not owners, of the resources God has given us.  I recently recognized that I am only a steward of the contruction projects that God has given me, and that I need to view them with the same type of stewardship perspective that I had when I was managing projects for Phil.  Meaning that I ought to be making decisions with God's help, perspective and priorities, not my natural motivations, since they really are HIS projects, not mine.

Soooo.

I was thinking and praying in my office the other day.  Thinking about my responsibilities as a husband and father.  Probably feeling a little overwhelmed, realizing my inadequacy...inadequacies, that is.  And my horizon of understanding broadened a little as I realized that this area, too, is one of stewardship, not ownership.

So, I like Jane Austin books and movies, and as I was thinking about stewardship, I thought of Pemberley, in Pride & Prejudice.  They don't really show a steward, but I know there was one, because the dastardly Mr. Wickham explains to Elizabeth that his father was the late Mr. Darcy's steward.  I sat there in my study, thinking about what it would be like to be the steward of an estate.  I imagined Mr. Darcy, in the mornings walking and talking with his steward.  Talking about difficulties and challenges on the estate.  Talking about what was coming up next seasonally, and Mr. Darcy giving instructions to the steward about what he wanted him to focus on in the next days and weeks.  Answering the stewards direct questions about how he wants things done....and I was kind of delighted with the idea.  Imagining my "quiet times" becoming conversations between the steward (me) and the owner (God), about the different areas of responsibility He has given me.

I have been already thinking about areas of responsibility from the perspective of personal organization and planning, and had been considering 8 areas of responsibility:

1. Inner Life
2. Physical
3. Family
4. Finances
5. Relationships
6. Home
7. Work
8. Interests

So, I have been praying and "talking over" these AOR with the Master of those areas, and it has been very interesting.  My quiet times, while comprised of bible reading and prayer primarily, have really taken on a motivating focus of seeking His direction in the areas he has delegated to me.

Which brings me full circle to the function of these blog posts.  As I was thinking about delegation and stewardship, I realized that the Father has delegated to the Son stewardship of...well, all things, really.  Ephesians 1 says that all things in heaven and on earth have been gathered together in Christ.  It says that all things have been placed under his feet, and He has also been given to be the head over the Church.

Bingo!  A ready made blog post developed in my mind:

Christ loves the Church by taking the responsibility that the Father has delegated to Him as His steward, and Christ takes care of it for Him in the way that the Father wants Him to...and we, too, are to love our wives as we recognize that really, our family are really the possession of the Father, and we should act accordingly, seeking His counsel, and addressing our responsibilities according to His priorities and characteristics.