"And the Lord said, 'Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.'" Luke 12: 42-43 NASB
There is a certain kind of steward whose master will put him in charge of his servants. It's the one who is both faithful and sensible. We looked at faithful yesterday.
The other adjective Jesus used is sensible. The word used here is phronimos and literally means intelligent or "practically wise". This is not "book smart". This is "horse smart". It's what we might call "common sense".
You may have heard the phrase, "He's so heavenly minded that he's no earthly good."
Our Lord is looking for heavenly-minded servants who are also wise in a practical way.
We need to be "earthly good" because He has placed us here on earth to serve Him.
If we memorize every verse of Scripture in the Bible but don't use our knowledge to serve Christ by ministering to the people He places in our path, what good have we done? How have we advanced the Kingdom of God?
Yes, we are to plant the words of Christ deep in our hearts, but the purpose is not to hoard it. The purpose of the planting is so that it can grow and bear fruit. What kind of fruit? The living Word of God bears living fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.
We are to be Christ-followers, not just Christ-studiers.
Being a follower means I put my feet to the ground, my hand to the plow, and I work for Him in whatever task He gives me.
The life of a writer is so solitary that I sometimes wonder what plowing He intends for me at this point in my life. It's easy for me to watch everything happening around me from a distance, to stand just outside, watching as life unfolds. It requires a choice on my part to enter in, so I'm trying to make that choice on a daily basis.
Lately, that choice has meant long, friendly conversations with volunteers in national parks, quick conversations with young (and very dirty) back-packers looking for a bus station, compassion for someone who was unwittingly injured by the mistake of another, smiles for frowning people, patience when I'm tired and want to scream instead.
Being a Christ-follower has also meant relinquishing security for the uncertain path of a Certain God, who has a plan I cannot see.
This life I'm living now is not what I expected at this stage of my life, but I wouldn't change it for anything. It's a kind of adventure. It's astonishing, and hard, and fun. There's not much more beautiful to me than the black on white of words on the page. I'm breathless and awed by the grace of God that allows me to be a part of this incredible work, but equally awed by the job of hauling hay, feeding animals, repairing feed troughs. I hope I'm becoming a sensible steward, one who is "practically wise".
Jesus is looking for faithful stewards who are wise in practical ways.
Am I that faithful steward? Are you? It's the question we all must answer. He expects us to take the intelligence He's given us and use it for the Kingdom of God, so take a look at the knowledge He's placed in you. How are you using it for Him?
Let's give Him free reign in our lives to take our abilities, our knowledge, our intellect, and use it as He desires.
Let's do earthly good with our heavenly-minded hearts.
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Our Father, forgive us for not serving those You've placed in our paths. Help us to serve with open hearts and ready hands. Help us to be practically wise. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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