Lately I’ve been thinking how self-absorbed I can be. Perhaps you can relate to this modern parable:
I got out of my bed this morning and put on my clothes. Then I went downstairs and made a cup of hot tea in my favorite mug. Then I left my house, got in my car and drove to my job. And I did it all my way.
Of course, there’s a sense in which I everything I just wrote is true. And even the Bible condones the concept of private property, otherwise there would be no commandment against theft (Exodus 20:15).
But then I read verses such as Psalm 50:10-12, “every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousands hills . . . for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
This is Almighty God speaking here. And he makes it quite clear who owns everything on this planet. He does. A plethora of Bible passages testify to that (see Leviticus 25:23, Deuteronomy 10:14, Psalm 24:1, Haggai 2:8).
So nothing that I “own” is really mine. It all belongs to God. Only because of his grace do I get to use it and take care of it temporarily. This is what the Bible calls “stewardship”.
Furthermore, the Bible also says that God owns us. He is owner of everything on earth, including us. He owns us because he made us. And because he created us, he gets to do with us as he pleases.
We belong to him. Signed, sealed, delivered – we’re his.
This is what the apostle Peter had in mind when he wrote, “You are . . . a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9). Likewise did the psalmist sing, “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3).
If you are fortunate enough to finish this article, it will be because of one reason – the grace, mercy and love of God. If God chooses to end your life before you finish reading this article, he will have done you no wrong. And should I slump over in my chair and die before finishing this article, God will have done me no wrong.
Our lives hang by the thread of God’s sovereign grace, because life is a gift from God. You get one shot, one opportunity, one at bat.
So today I urge you to take a breath and receive a gift from the hand of Almighty God. Such a perspective can renew your spirit, revitalize your gratitude, and change your life.
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