Being A Steward For God

So I've missed out on my devotions because of internet problems. Lord-willing things I will be able to do this again daily when I get back to Boston. I've also been missing out on my my Bible readings because of both time I have to myself and my unwillingness to wake up earlier than 9AM every single day. Pray for me in this regard, that by God's grace I will be able to build up a discipline for living out His Word.

So for Genesis 43, didn't really read into it as much as I could have. Given my internet connection, I'll keep things short.

Benjamin was the only brother Joseph had from the same mother. This should explain why it's so important to him to the point that he was brought to tears at the very sight of him.

Anyway, I think this passage wants to show us what are the signs of good stewardship as modeled by Joseph. He models stewardship as something that is not expected, something that is done because we are reminded of God's grace, and something that strengthens the community between each other.

Stewardship originally meant what Joseph did which was to serve the guests of your household. But in a more Christian context it's meant to take care of someone. I guess it's important to realize the aspects of Christian stewardship because it's one that reflects God's kindness towards us given what God has given us. It's important for it to be unexpected because it reflects unconditional kindness, something done outside of obligation and is a true act of grace. We need to act under the reminder of God's grace because it keeps us from acting with any selfish or ulterior motives. This is close to the 1st reason but altruism for it's own sake can't be the motivator we use. Unless it's for God, we will fail to really glorify Him in our acts of stewardship. In other words, our stewardship is no different from the ones that give for the sake of feeling good about giving or for the sake of giving for their organization/affiliation. And lastly, it needs to strengthen community or fellowship with each other. This is often a byproduct or a result of doing stewardship with the first two parts in mind. In a way, this is how we are blessed for serving: a deeper and stronger connection with each other.

The last point is important because this is how we know we're doing it for others and not for ourselves. That if we are not pushed into that stronger connection with those around us, we might not have done it for the right reasons. In the passage, Joseph eats with not only the Egyptians, the foreigners that will be the enemy of God's people, but also his brothers who threw him in the cistern and sold him off to slavery. Jesus himself dined with the same people who would put him on the cross. And in fellowship with Him, the same sinners whose sins resulted in His death, would live in fellowship with Him in the Kingdom of God.