Steward part 1
I'm really trying to hammer home the point that we don't do anything--anything!--on our own. Even way back in Genesis 2:18, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." We're social creatures by nature. (Even an antisocial hermit like me.) We're better together. "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12). We need each other. Love is giving. And you can't give unless you have something to give, and someone to give it to. Love is about relationships. The light in me connecting to the light in you. And relationships take a lot of work. Now, listen, when I say relationships take a lot of work I'm NOT saying relationships should be a battle. If you're constantly battling with someone... that's not good. If you're trying to manipulate and control people... that's not love. That's abuse. And you should never put yourself or keep yourself in an abusive relationship. You should love people--all people--but that doesn't mean you have to let people abuse you. Once you've given something everything you've got its either enough... or its not. And if its not, then its not. Shrug your shoulders and move on. You can't reach everybody. You can't connect with everybody. And the more you try to reach everybody, do everything, be someone you're not... the more frustrated you will be. So instead of all that--which I think could be summed up as going into business for yourself--just be a good steward. Just take what you've been given (by your heavenly Father) and share it. Love without expectations. Give what you've got without worrying about getting anything back. The trick is--you can only do that by knowing what you've got. By knowing that what you've got is enough. Enough for them AND enough for you. Because while it is not good that man should be alone... our relationship with the God who is love makes sure that we are never alone! I'm talking about connecting with people, yes. But that connection starts (and ends, the Alpha and Omega) with God. Love is the only real connection. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. God has given us His love. His Spirit. His life. Himself. And we are to be good stewards of what He has given us. We are to take care of that love. By taking care of each other. By giving it away. By giving ourselves away. Jesus said to love one another as He loves us. And He loves us so much that He not only gave His life FOR us, He gave His life TO us. So that we could have it. So that we could experience it. By letting Jesus live His own abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in us, and through us, and as us. We don't do it by ourselves. We can't. We don't have anything except what our heavenly Father has given us. And He only gave it to us so that we could experience and enjoy it by giving it away. Letting the love inside of us come out by knowing and believing that its in there. That's what being a steward is all about--taking care of what we've been given... by giving it away!