"We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. "
2 Corinthians 4:18
LOOKING AHEAD
Read It: Romans 8:24; 1 Peter 1:8
Your view of heaven and eternity will go a long way toward determining mining what you do on earth. This is true in a number of areas, nowhere more than in our stewardship. Everything we talk about over the next four weeks is built on the premise that being a good steward on earth is vitally and irrevocably linked with your view of heaven. Now it may seem unusual to link so closely together the unseen world with that part of our world that is probably the most easily seen: the things we have around us, particularly our material possessions. But we'll see that this is exactly what the Bible does. And besides, people ple actually do this in the secular world all the time. We call it investing. An investment is putting away something today for tomorrow because you believe tomorrow is coming, and you need to be ready for it even though you can't see tomorrow.
People who make investments believe that the future is significant to the present, and they act accordingly. The biblical concept of stewardship has to do with how you and I handle what we have now in light of what is to come. A smart investor has to look way beyond what is happening around him now So does a good steward. A smart investor can't be influenced or sidetracked by those who are blowing everything they have on immediate diate pleasures, living just for the moment. Nor can a good steward. A smart investor has to be disciplined and patient, knowing that all the accounts aren't going to be settled now. Same thing with us believers who are only stewards or managers of what God has entrusted to us. Finally, an investor has to take risks. Even if he has a solid investment plan from the best people on Wall Street, no investor can be totally sure his financial future won't go crashing down if something drastic happens. God's stewards take risks too, but with one big difference. When we follow God's plan, even if we lose it all here on earth, we can still gain it all in heaven! Think About It The question in stewardship is not what I get out of it, but what God gets out of it.
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