Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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Why be a good steward at all? What is the aim of a Christian? There’s a saying that goes, “If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” We can’t work for our salvation. We don’t need to! Christ died for us. So why work at all?

We work to please God. We’re to use all that we have to glorify Him. We’re to use all our abilities to glorify Him. I mentioned last week that King David sinned in counting the Israelites. And as David was nearing his death, he again did a count, this time only of the Levites. It wasn’t for the purpose of taxation or enlisting into an army, as was probably the case for the other census. No, it was for the purpose of service before God. How could they best use their talents? These people now had jobs to do. They would be judged according to how they performed in their jobs. They wouldn’t be judged according to the jobs they weren’t tasked to do. We, too, each have an ability which we must use in the Kingdom of God.

“For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 4:15-5:4)

All the things that Paul and the apostles endured were for the sake of those who would believe (v. 15a). They endured a lot (v. 8-10). Paul gives a more specific list in 2 Corinthians 11:23b-27. We ought to be willing to suffer to see people come to Christ. Our suffering can bring about good things.

It’s like a story about a newspaper salesman who sold newspapers on a street corner. One day his employer found out he was illiterate and fired him. Jobless, the man turned to do the only thing he knew how to do: build rocking chairs. He had been doing it in his spare time for years, but never thought he could make a living doing it. After selling a few chairs to friends, he eventually opened a store, which expanded to two stores, which turned into a multimillion dollar chain. One day the man’s banker said, “You’ve done well for an illiterate, but where would you be if you could read and write?” “Well,” replied the man, “I suppose I’d still be selling newspapers on the street corner.”

When you seem to have a loss in your life, look to find where God is using it for good.

But we endure not merely for people only, but for God to receive more praise (v. 15b). When more people trust in Christ, God receives more praise from more people. God enjoys the praises of His people. He doesn’t need us to worship Him. Yet He chooses to delight in it.

My children often give me some of the most hideous artwork. But I love to receive their scribbles. I tell them “good job” and encourage them. God does that for us.

Therefore, since any suffering we endure serves a purpose, we don’t lose heart (v. 16). Not only do we not give up, but we continue to have high morale. Let’s be honest, though. Suffering wears on us. Our outer self is wasting away.

I read a story about an elderly woman who fell out of a second-floor window and landed in a slow-moving garbage truck. Half-buried in the litter, she tried without success to get the truck-driver’s attention. A foreign diplomat standing on the sidewalk saw her and said, “that’s just another example of how wasteful Americans are. That woman looks like she’s good for at least another 10 years.”

These bodies are falling apart. And even in our best condition we aren’t perfect. And it’s because we’re not perfect that we’re not fit for Heaven. That’s why Jesus had to die. He took our place, and we share His.

Yet we still have to live in these frail bodies until we go to meet Jesus. It’s discouraging to not see the results that we hope for. It makes serving more difficult. It causes us to be less likely to use our talents for God. Every time we get rejected in sharing our faith, we’re tempted to give up.

But don’t lose hope! Remember the purposes for which you serve God! Be renewed day by day in your inner self! Look at your circumstances as preparation for eternity (v. 17-18). Heaven will be our opportunity to praise God all the time. So use your abilities on earth to praise Him from this day forward, into eternity.

This point is further made at the beginning of chapter 5 (v. 1-4). Our bodies are being used as an illustration of our service to God. These bodies are wearing away. But we don’t long to shed these bodies. We want to grow closer to what our perfected bodies will look like. As we serve God, we become more like what we will be.

We were created to work. But work wasn’t meant to be difficult. Work was supposed to be exciting! In heaven, we will all have jobs to do (Revelation 22:3). The ground will not be cursed because of our sin. We will joyfully serve God forever.