Pastor’s Corner – May 15, 2025
“The Lord God put Adam in the garden to till it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:18)
From the beginning God intended that humans would be caretakers of God’s creation. God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Provider and we are blessed to be God’s grateful stewards. This faith perspective that focuses us on using God’s gifts to care for our earthly home, ourselves, and others is beautifully revealed in the life of our Leader, Jesus.
This concluding article on stewardship focuses on the important gift of respect and unity in the rich diversity that expresses God’s creativity. In the prayer Jesus spoke on the eve of his death we find this petition: “The glory that you have given me I have given to my disciples, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22-23)
The disciples of Jesus reflect a very broad and beautiful diversity. Disciples represent every continent, culture, ethnicity, gender, age, interest, language, belief, and practice. Unity is possible among such different disciples because of the unifying power of God’s love. It really is just as St. Paul said: “Faith, hope, and love abide, and the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13) Love brings us together in a liberating unity not in an oppressive conformity.
Practicing stewardship holds great hope for renewing and restoring the earth and its inhabitants. That hope can be fulfilled when in love and unity the disciples of Jesus around the world embrace God’s call to be care takers of what God has made and shared with us. The love and respect we emulate are the building blocks of bridges that can bring divided and distrustful groups together for the common good of a sustainable home where everyone’s needs are met and where we live in well-being and harmony.
I know the fulfillment of the Creator’s intentions for stewardship seems unlikely if not downright impossible. But remember, “with God all things are possible”. (Luke 1:37)
Yours in Christ,
Marc
