July 19

1 Chronicles 29:10-17

It's mine, no, its' Mine

I have had the opportunity to work with kindergartners this past year.  One of the most frequent conversations that brought tears to their eyes was when one child would give a toy of theirs to another.  The recipient would immediately think they now owned a new gift.  The 5 year old giver would always say, "it's not yours, it's mine". The 5 year old recipient would stare in shock.  If we think of this on a larger scale, how often does God bless us and we confuse ourselves by thinking we now own it. God then uses passages like today's to remind us, "it's not yours, it's Mine".

In Psalm 24:1 David wrote:  "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it".  In today's reading we see how David realized his responsibility as a steward of God's wealth.  David had wanted to build a house for the Lord and although he had the resources, God told him he was not the one to build the house for His Name (v.3). Although God certainly didn't owe David any explanations, He had good reason.  God chose Solomon.  By definition, being a steward means that one understands the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to him.  David seemed to understand that he did not own any of his gold or silver, it all came from God and now it was time to use what he had been given an abundance of to pass on to his son and get the temple built.  We are here as vessels for God's glory, We, as well all of what we think are our possessions, are His. When we tithe, we are just giving back what is already God's, He just wants to test our hearts to see if we know that.  If you stop and think about it, can we really give God something He doesn't already own?  Today's reading really impacted the way I look at "things".  Perhaps when God sees that we are responsible stewards, He will increase what He gives us to watch over so that we can bless others. Perhaps that's why Jesus told his disciples in Luke 19:26: 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away."  Understanding our responsibility as stewards is important. This might not necessarily relate only to material items. Perhaps it could refer to who God puts in our path to disciple, or to our knowledge and understanding.  We have to remember God is always testing our hearts and is pleased with integrity. Even though David wasn't the one appointed to build the temple, he was still honored to do God's work by supplying the material. There is no portion of time, money, knowledge, or any resource that is ours, and then the rest belongs to God. It is all His. He owns it all and He has simply entrusted  us to use it for His service while we journey through this earth.  I found this changed the way I prayed this morning.  I found myself praying that I use everything God has given me, including my time, as a testimony of gratitude. I pray for all of us that as we go into today we keep in the forefront of our minds that nothing is ours.  I pray we are all good stewards of our God given talents, gifts and resources.

Randi