# Purpose and Stewardship
I have been thinking about purpose, and I am beginning to see it through the idea of "stewardship".
I believe God has a general purpose for humanity, a general purpose for those who belong to Christ, and also particular things He entrusts to individuals. In Genesis, humanity was given responsibility to fill the earth, cultivate it, work it, keep it, and exercise dominion under God. Man was therefore placed in creation not as the ultimate owner, but as a **steward**.
For the Christian, this stewardship goes further. Jesus calls us **“the salt of the earth”** and **“the light of the world.”** He Himself said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” He taught, preached, healed, delivered, instructed, and ministered to people. He exercised and dispensed what the Father had entrusted to Him.
Peter says:
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
— 1 Peter 4:10
So stewardship is not merely about money, possessions, talents, or abilities.
**Stewardship is managing whatever comes into our little world according to how God wants it managed, so that it does not leave our hands contrary to His will.**
But not everything we encounter is necessarily ours to steward.
We live in a world filled with countless people, problems, opportunities, and events. We cannot take responsibility for everything. There must be a distinction between what we merely encounter and what the Master actually places within our sphere of responsibility, influence, authority, relationship, opportunity, or care.
Therefore, one of the crucial questions of purpose is:
**“What has the Master placed within my stewardship, and what has He not?”**
If someone comes into my care, how do I treat them?
If money comes into my hands, how do I use it?
If knowledge comes to me, what do I do with it?
If I receive an opportunity, how do I handle it?
If I am given influence, what do I cause that influence to produce?
If I receive a spiritual gift, do I use it to serve others?
If evil comes into my sphere, do I become another channel through which it spreads—or do I, by God's grace, stop its transmission through me?
This is why stewardship also involves **cultivation**.
Cultivation takes time.
A seed becomes a tree.
A child grows into an adult.
Knowledge develops into wisdom.
A gift becomes fruitful through exercise.
Truth is taught from one generation to another.
Good institutions and communities are built over time.
And therefore, what passes through our hands can become either **something we cultivate for God's purposes or something we help multiply contrary to His will**.
Unforgiveness can produce bitterness.
Bitterness can produce hatred.
Hatred can produce further harm.
But forgiveness can interrupt a cycle.
Truth can produce trust.
Love can produce love.
Wisdom can produce wisdom.
Generosity can produce generosity.
The Christian should therefore ask not only:
**“What am I producing?”**
but also:
**“What am I helping to reproduce?”**
Ultimately, I think purpose can be understood in this way:
**Purpose is not simply doing something impressive with our lives. It is faithfully doing what the Master has entrusted to us.**
Jesus prayed to the Father:
> “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
> — John 17:4
He did not say, “I have done everything that could possibly be done.”
He said:
**“The work which Thou gavest Me.”**
That is the distinction.
We are not called to steward everything in the world.
We are called to faithfully steward **what the Master brings into our hands and places within our responsibility**.
And when we stand before Him, the question will not ultimately be how much we possessed, how famous we became, or how impressive our accomplishments appeared.
It will be:
**What did you do with what I entrusted to you?**
Perhaps, then, to fulfill purpose is simply this:
**To take what the Master puts into our hands, manage it according to His will, cultivate what He wants cultivated, dispense what He wants given, refuse to propagate what He calls evil, and faithfully complete the work He has given us to do.**
**That is stewardship. And perhaps that is what it means to fulfill purpose.**
I have been thinking about purpose, and I am beginning to see it through the idea of "stewardship".
I believe God has a general purpose for humanity, a general purpose for those who belong to Christ, and also particular things He entrusts to individuals. In Genesis, humanity was given responsibility to fill the earth, cultivate it, work it, keep it, and exercise dominion under God. Man was therefore placed in creation not as the ultimate owner, but as a **steward**.
For the Christian, this stewardship goes further. Jesus calls us **“the salt of the earth”** and **“the light of the world.”** He Himself said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” He taught, preached, healed, delivered, instructed, and ministered to people. He exercised and dispensed what the Father had entrusted to Him.
Peter says:
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
— 1 Peter 4:10
So stewardship is not merely about money, possessions, talents, or abilities.
**Stewardship is managing whatever comes into our little world according to how God wants it managed, so that it does not leave our hands contrary to His will.**
But not everything we encounter is necessarily ours to steward.
We live in a world filled with countless people, problems, opportunities, and events. We cannot take responsibility for everything. There must be a distinction between what we merely encounter and what the Master actually places within our sphere of responsibility, influence, authority, relationship, opportunity, or care.
Therefore, one of the crucial questions of purpose is:
**“What has the Master placed within my stewardship, and what has He not?”**
If someone comes into my care, how do I treat them?
If money comes into my hands, how do I use it?
If knowledge comes to me, what do I do with it?
If I receive an opportunity, how do I handle it?
If I am given influence, what do I cause that influence to produce?
If I receive a spiritual gift, do I use it to serve others?
If evil comes into my sphere, do I become another channel through which it spreads—or do I, by God's grace, stop its transmission through me?
This is why stewardship also involves **cultivation**.
Cultivation takes time.
A seed becomes a tree.
A child grows into an adult.
Knowledge develops into wisdom.
A gift becomes fruitful through exercise.
Truth is taught from one generation to another.
Good institutions and communities are built over time.
And therefore, what passes through our hands can become either **something we cultivate for God's purposes or something we help multiply contrary to His will**.
Unforgiveness can produce bitterness.
Bitterness can produce hatred.
Hatred can produce further harm.
But forgiveness can interrupt a cycle.
Truth can produce trust.
Love can produce love.
Wisdom can produce wisdom.
Generosity can produce generosity.
The Christian should therefore ask not only:
**“What am I producing?”**
but also:
**“What am I helping to reproduce?”**
Ultimately, I think purpose can be understood in this way:
**Purpose is not simply doing something impressive with our lives. It is faithfully doing what the Master has entrusted to us.**
Jesus prayed to the Father:
> “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
> — John 17:4
He did not say, “I have done everything that could possibly be done.”
He said:
**“The work which Thou gavest Me.”**
That is the distinction.
We are not called to steward everything in the world.
We are called to faithfully steward **what the Master brings into our hands and places within our responsibility**.
And when we stand before Him, the question will not ultimately be how much we possessed, how famous we became, or how impressive our accomplishments appeared.
It will be:
**What did you do with what I entrusted to you?**
Perhaps, then, to fulfill purpose is simply this:
**To take what the Master puts into our hands, manage it according to His will, cultivate what He wants cultivated, dispense what He wants given, refuse to propagate what He calls evil, and faithfully complete the work He has given us to do.**
**That is stewardship. And perhaps that is what it means to fulfill purpose.**
# Purpose and Stewardship
I have been thinking about purpose, and I am beginning to see it through the idea of "stewardship".
I believe God has a general purpose for humanity, a general purpose for those who belong to Christ, and also particular things He entrusts to individuals. In Genesis, humanity was given responsibility to fill the earth, cultivate it, work it, keep it, and exercise dominion under God. Man was therefore placed in creation not as the ultimate owner, but as a **steward**.
For the Christian, this stewardship goes further. Jesus calls us **“the salt of the earth”** and **“the light of the world.”** He Himself said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” He taught, preached, healed, delivered, instructed, and ministered to people. He exercised and dispensed what the Father had entrusted to Him.
Peter says:
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
— 1 Peter 4:10
So stewardship is not merely about money, possessions, talents, or abilities.
**Stewardship is managing whatever comes into our little world according to how God wants it managed, so that it does not leave our hands contrary to His will.**
But not everything we encounter is necessarily ours to steward.
We live in a world filled with countless people, problems, opportunities, and events. We cannot take responsibility for everything. There must be a distinction between what we merely encounter and what the Master actually places within our sphere of responsibility, influence, authority, relationship, opportunity, or care.
Therefore, one of the crucial questions of purpose is:
**“What has the Master placed within my stewardship, and what has He not?”**
If someone comes into my care, how do I treat them?
If money comes into my hands, how do I use it?
If knowledge comes to me, what do I do with it?
If I receive an opportunity, how do I handle it?
If I am given influence, what do I cause that influence to produce?
If I receive a spiritual gift, do I use it to serve others?
If evil comes into my sphere, do I become another channel through which it spreads—or do I, by God's grace, stop its transmission through me?
This is why stewardship also involves **cultivation**.
Cultivation takes time.
A seed becomes a tree.
A child grows into an adult.
Knowledge develops into wisdom.
A gift becomes fruitful through exercise.
Truth is taught from one generation to another.
Good institutions and communities are built over time.
And therefore, what passes through our hands can become either **something we cultivate for God's purposes or something we help multiply contrary to His will**.
Unforgiveness can produce bitterness.
Bitterness can produce hatred.
Hatred can produce further harm.
But forgiveness can interrupt a cycle.
Truth can produce trust.
Love can produce love.
Wisdom can produce wisdom.
Generosity can produce generosity.
The Christian should therefore ask not only:
**“What am I producing?”**
but also:
**“What am I helping to reproduce?”**
Ultimately, I think purpose can be understood in this way:
**Purpose is not simply doing something impressive with our lives. It is faithfully doing what the Master has entrusted to us.**
Jesus prayed to the Father:
> “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
> — John 17:4
He did not say, “I have done everything that could possibly be done.”
He said:
**“The work which Thou gavest Me.”**
That is the distinction.
We are not called to steward everything in the world.
We are called to faithfully steward **what the Master brings into our hands and places within our responsibility**.
And when we stand before Him, the question will not ultimately be how much we possessed, how famous we became, or how impressive our accomplishments appeared.
It will be:
**What did you do with what I entrusted to you?**
Perhaps, then, to fulfill purpose is simply this:
**To take what the Master puts into our hands, manage it according to His will, cultivate what He wants cultivated, dispense what He wants given, refuse to propagate what He calls evil, and faithfully complete the work He has given us to do.**
**That is stewardship. And perhaps that is what it means to fulfill purpose.**
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