“With great power comes great responsibility.” –Uncle Ben to Spiderman. Also, Jesus: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”

You are a parent. You leave your teenage kids home for the weekend. You return home to a strong odor, a broken lamp, trash everywhere, a pile of dishes, and a hungry dog. While you were away, you entrusted your home and responsibilities to your people and it was abused and squandered. 

Or– upon your return home, you’re greeted by a happy, healthy dog, trash cans emptied and brought back in from the curb, the smell of warm bread in the oven, happy siblings, and warm candlelight.

Once again Jesus has used a parable (a metaphorical story), that connects with the people he is among, to help teach them about the Kingdom of God. They are about to witness his death and endure his absence for a time. Jesus wants to equip them to be ready, to be watchful for God’s movement, and to be attentive to the work of the Kingdom in their waiting. 

What’s more is that the hypothetical story above, of teenagers caring for the home while the owners are away, only begins to depict the abuses incurred by vulnerable people in Jesus’ example in Luke 12:41-48. Here, Jesus teaches that his leaders have a great responsibility, that abuses will be punished, and that our role in stewardship matters in this life and the next.

Main Points

• The faithful and sensible disciple stewards what she has been given while waiting for Jesus to return 
• Faithful stewards on earth will also be trusted stewards in the new heavens and new earth
• There are eternal rewards and punishments for how we steward what we have been given on earth

Key Takeaways

• To steward is to look after. Nothing we have belongs to us.
• We display God’s glory when we steward our positions, our gifts, and our resources faithfully. (1 Cor 4:2)
• Sensible (wise, practical, functional) and faithful (with sincere belief) stewardship honors God.
• A “decorative” faith is an insincere faith. 
• God has lovingly given humankind the responsibility to cultivate and keep (protect, take care of) creation (all that the Lord has made). 
• The new heavens and the new earth is God’s future restored earth. 
• God gives many pictures to help us grow in our understanding of this picture of a restored earth.
• The glory of a nation is its people. 
• Culture is its people! Culture is art, language, creativity, and delicious foods. Diversity of culture is required and celebrated in the picture of the new heavens and new earth.
• The way we live now matters for our future glory.
• Self-centeredness reveals itself in carelessness (ignoring Jesus’ voice), cruelty (ignoring Jesus’ way), and carousing (indulgence).
• Sincere faith builds in us a God-centeredness.

Questions for Personal Application:

• What do you think about stewardship? Where have you seen this done well?
• Ask God to teach you how to care well for the people and spaces he has entrusted to you. Where are you experiencing his presence in these spaces? 
• In what ways have you enjoyed the diversity of God’s people?

Discussion Questions for Community Groups:

• Take a moment to encourage the people in your group in the ways you see them stewarding what God has entrusted to them.
• What has been your view of the new heavens and the new earth? Read Romans 8:19-23 together. In what ways do you see creation groaning and waiting for humankind to take up their work of caring for and cultivating creation? 
• Jesus is constantly teaching that the Kingdom of God is ordered quite differently than we might naturally think. In this parable, Jesus is reordering priorities, encouraging us to take good care of the relationships, people, and gifts entrusted to each of us. What could this mean for you and your family today? What priorities could be reordered in your life as you give more value to Kingdom principles? 
• For a children’s book on this parable, check out: Jesus and the Very Big Surprise

Passages Referenced:

Luke 12:41-48; Rev 21, Rev 7

Songs:

Hallelujah For The Cross; Christ Our Hope In Life And Death; Such An Awesome God; O Praise The Name (Anástasis); Be Thou My Vision