One commonality among all authors—famous or not—is lousy first drafts. Revisions, corrections, and creative additions are all necessary to make our favorite books as good as they are.
As followers of Jesus, we aim to live lives of generosity, and this also requires a series of revisions, corrections, and creative additions. We seldom see complete stewardship and generosity in a human being. Instead, we see imperfect people—like us—doing their best to live generously toward others as Jesus did.
Living generously like Jesus requires that we grow in knowledge and in action. We seek to revise our perspective, rightly understanding that the Lord is the source and end of all things. Out of this understanding, we aim to correctly view all our resources—not just our finances—as belonging to the Lord. When we see ourselves as stewards of the tools He has given us to advance His Kingdom, we can boldly and creatively act on that truth.
A model passage for those seeking to be the best stewards of this one life we have been given is Philippians 2:3–8. In this passage, Paul explains that Jesus did nothing from selfish motives. Jesus, like no one else, did this perfectly and in the end became the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
God isn’t calling us to lay down our lives for humankind in the way Jesus did—that was something only He could do. But we can daily follow Christ’s example. We can revise our choices, correct our thoughts, and come up with creative actions to serve others and the Kingdom. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NIV).
May the stories of our lives be marked by revisions, corrections, and creative additions to our Christian stewardship.
