The Purpose Driven Life(10)

We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans the earth to us while we’re here. It was God’s property before you arrived, and God will loan it to someone else after you die. You just get to enjoy it for a while.

When God created Adam and Eve, he entrusted the care of his creation to them and appointed them trustees of his property. The Bible says, “[God] blessed them, and said, ‘Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge.‘”6

The first job God gave humans was to manage and take care of God’s “stuff” on earth. This role has never been rescinded. It is a part of our purpose today. Everything we enjoy is to be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands. The Bible says, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?”7

Years ago, a couple let my wife and me use their beautiful, beach-front home in Hawaii for a vacation. It was an experience we could never have afforded, and we enjoyed it immensely. We were told, “Use it just like it’s yours,” so we did! We swam in the pool, ate the food in the refrigerator, used the bath towels and dishes, and even jumped on the beds in fun! But we knew all along that it wasn’t really ours, so we took special care of everything. We enjoyed the benefits of using the home without owning it.

Our culture says, “If you don’t own it, you won’t take care of it.” But Christians live by a higher standard: “Because God owns it, I must take the best care of it that I can.” The Bible says, “Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust.”8 Jesus often referred to life as a trust and told many stories to illustrate this responsibility toward God. In the story of the talents,9 a businessman entrusts his wealth to the care of his servants while he’s away. When he returns, he evaluates each servant’s responsibility and rewards them accordingly. The owner says, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.”10


The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.



At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you. That means everything you do, even simple daily chores, has eternal implications. If you treat everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity. First, you will be given God’s affirmation: He will say, “Good job! Well done!” Next, you will receive a promotion and be given greater responsibility in eternity: “I will put you in charge of many things.” Then you will be honored with a celebration: “Come and share your Master’s happiness.”

Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God. God uses finances to teach us to trust him, and for many people, money is the greatest test of all. God watches how we use money to test how trustworthy we are. The Bible says, “If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?”11

This is a very important truth. God says there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my spiritual life. How I manage my money (“worldly wealth”) determines how much God can trust me with spiritual blessings (“true riches”). Let me ask you: Is the way you manage your money preventing God from doing more in your life? Can you be trusted with spiritual riches?

Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”12 Life is a test and a trust, and the more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.


DAY FIVE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE





Point to Ponder: Life is a test and a trust.





Verse to Remember: “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.”

Luke 16:10a (NLT)





Question to Consider: What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?





6

Life Is a Temporary Assignment


LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.

Psalm 39:4 (NLT)





I am here on earth for just a little while.

Psalm 119:19 (TEV)





Life on earth is a temporary assignment.

The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. Life is described as a mist, a fast runner, a breath, and a wisp of smoke. The Bible says, “For we were born but yesterday…Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow.”1