What does it mean to be a good steward?  I think that too often it means that we should be very careful in handling the small amounts that are given to the church.  It means not being wasteful.

Certainly those are good things to be but stewardship is much larger than that.  It is about having a vision of the Kingdom of God and using all that we have and see around us to that end. 

Paul wrote that we are stewards of the mysteries of God.  And if that is what we are, then everything that has been given to us should be used in living into the mystery.

When I go into a dollar store I start looking at every toy and article and wonder how I might use it in my children's sermon to further the Gospel, to help the children understand how much God loves them.  Perhaps I am thinking way too small. 

Perhaps every available building I drive by and every billboard and every meeting  should be weighed as a means of spreading the gospel.

Every community need can be seen as an opportunity to share God's love.  We should be getting up every morning and wondering how we can share God's love and spending our days looking for resources and opportunities to further the kingdom.

If you haven't done any personal visioning lately, perhaps it is time.  If your church hasn't rethought who you are as a people of God and what God would have you doing then perhaps it is time.  But more, it is time every day to rethink what it means to have been given such a wonderful gift of love and consider how to share it and watch it grow.

Lord, Open our hearts to your love and your vision fro the world and then open our eyes to see the opportunities all around us.  Amen