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“Joan of Arcadia” is
a television series in which God regularly appears
as various unusual people to speak to and reveal
truths to Joan, a high school student. In a very
early episode where Joan is still wrestling with
accepting that God is manifesting himself in human
form to speak to her, she asks for proof.
The conversation
with God goes something like this: “Show me some
proof. Show me a miracle,” Joan demands. God says
okay and points to a tree. Joan asks what God is
pointing to. God responds that he is pointing to a
tree. Joan exclaims, “You call that a miracle!?!”
The Lord responds, “Okay. Let’s see you make
one.”
A central challenge
to our stewardship is illuminated in that simple
and amusing exchange. As a culture, we have
developed a great sense of power, perhaps even
arrogance, regarding all creation because of the
many advancements that humankind has made over the
ages. We tend to see ourselves as powerful
creators, as being in control.
We take for granted
the truly wondrous creation around us because it’s
just always there. It doesn’t require our
attention. It’s not one of the advanced machines
that humans have created. It’s not a house built
with human hands, following a human design, paid
for with human capital.
We tend to see
human endeavor as the power behind the creation we
experience. God’s creation is background. It’s not
a conscious thought for most people, but if it
weren’t there in the unconscious we would stand in
great awe, and appreciation, of every single thing
around us. We also tend to forget that all of the
wondrous creations of human ingenuity are created
with the basic materials that God provides us,
using the skills that God provides, with the
intellect that God provides.
A simple example:
how do you feel when there is a power failure? We
all tend to take the flick of the switch to turn
on a light for granted. It gives us a certain
sense of being in control to know that our
flicking that switch will bring us light. When the
power goes out, we experience great discomfort.
The discomfort comes not just because we don’t
have electricity, but also because all the many
unknowns behind the power switch are revealed as
beyond our control. It rarely occurs to us that
something wondrous provides something so important
to us. We just take it for granted.
It’s no wonder that
our stewardship is often in need of improvement.
Were we to truly comprehend what a miracle all
creation is, what a gift from God every single
created thing is, we could only live in
thanksgiving. We would feel duty-bound to share
God’s abundance, to use God’s gracious provision
as he would have us use it.
Even your ability to
read this message is a gift from God. He has
granted you eyesight. He has granted you
intellect. You are alive by the grace of God. How
do you show your thanks? Do you anxiously hang on
to all of what God provides you? Or do you live in
the understanding that all that you have is given
you in stewardship to carry out work that God has
in mind for you? The response is to joyously
dedicate all that you have; your life, your
abilities, and your possessions, to the glory of
God. |
