Articles
The Steward
During our time overseas, God blessed our family with one of the greatest joys that we have ever been given. He placed two people in our lives, Mike and Joan Stephen, that became more like family to us than just friends.
Both Mike and Joan had successful careers when they became Christians. He was an Oral Surgeon and she a Headmaster (the equivalent of a school Principal in America). According to them, they had always been seekers, believing that there was a higher power in control but had never heard the truth. When they became Christians later in life, they believed that as a family, they were going to have to make some drastic changes in their lifestyle. They took to heart what Jesus said to the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10, and felt convicted that they should sell all that they had and “go follow” Jesus. Mike, Joan, and their four children set out to do just that. To hear them tell it, they were living very extravagantly. They began extreme downsizing and sold everything, allowing each of their children to keep 5 books, their beds and the clothing they would need. They put their home up for sale and began looking for a new place. It didn’t take long for Satan to begin his attack and Mike lost his job. As time went on, they lost contact with each of their children as their children began to resent both Christ and their parents. It seemed that Satan was going to make sure that if they were committed to giving it all up for Christ, that they would have nothing by a worldly standard. Mike and Joan remained steadfast in following Christ and came to understand early on in their lives as Christians, that great joy is found in the freedom of knowing that God is the provider of all things and that as his people we are just his stewards. We can see through scripture just how true this is if we believe that when God said to Job, “Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.” ( Job 41:11) We tend to think that of our possessions, we own them but sometimes we can allow them to own us. We often forget God has placed us in the position of stewardship over all that he has given us. How do you treat the possessions that you have? Are you the owner, or the steward?
Darrell Chappell
