As our stewardship season comes to a close and we approach our Ingathering this Sunday, observed this year on All Saints' Day, I find myself wanting to remind us that stewardship never really ends.
At its best, a stewardship campaign is not about budgets or pledge cards. Rather, it seeks to remind and inspire. It reminds us to count our blessings, not as an exercise in measuring the value of our lives, but as a way of seeing life itself. We count among our blessings our families and friends, our church, the beauty of life on Edisto Island and the communities we call home. We give thanks for the gift of time itself, for those who raised us, for our children and grandchildren, and for all those people who have become family through love, friendship, and shared life.
As we take stock of these blessings, we begin to recognize their source. Every good thing comes from God. Everything we have, everything we are, and everything we hope to become is ultimately a gift. Stewardship begins when gratitude opens our eyes to this truth.
The Christian life teaches us that there is no such thing as a self-made person. We are shaped by God's grace, sustained by God's mercy, and blessed through the love and care of countless others. Spiritual maturity comes when we are humble enough to acknowledge that all we have is received before it is ever earned.
And how do we respond?
We respond with thanksgiving. We respond with praise. We respond by offering back to God a portion of what God has first given to us. We offer our time, our talents, and our treasure for the sake of God's kingdom. We recognize that these gifts are not ours to hoard, but treasures entrusted to us for a purpose.
That purpose is nothing less than participating in God's work of reconciling the world. Through our prayers, our service, our generosity, and our witness, we join in God's mission of drawing all people and indeed all creation back into relationship with God.
This Sunday, as we bring forward our pledges, we do more than make a financial commitment to the church. We offer an act of thanksgiving. We acknowledge that everything comes from God and that all that we have is held in trust. Stewardship season may be ending, but the life of stewardship continues every day as we seek to live faithfully, generously, and gratefully in response to God's abundant grace.
“All things come of thee O Lord,
and of thine own have we given thee.” 1 Chronicles 29:14
