Walk into any bookstore, and you will find dozens—maybe even hundreds—of books on life management. (I have many in my own library.) There are books on organizing, scheduling, budgeting, prioritizing, administrating, goal-setting, people-managing…obviously, life management is a popular and necessary skill.

Even a surface skim through these books will reveal a common sub-theme. Authors attempt to teach you how to be successful by living out your dreams. They encourage you to dream big and then use management skills to become the best you that you can be—to reach your full potential of leadership and growth.

Stewarding Life is a different concept. Rather than focusing on self-fulfillment and personal legacy, we start by recognizing that life is a gift from God, and He has entrusted it to us to steward for Him.

God has attached to your life a profound purpose that only you can live out. Stewarding life is not about learning to tap into inner reservoirs of creativity and effectively manage them with helpful systems. It is a process of studying God’s principles for how He wants us to handle the resources He’s given us—and then applying those principles to wisely and diligently live out God’s purpose for our lives.

This fall, I have been preaching a new series titled “Stewarding Life” in which we have been examining God’s principles of using His resources for His glory. (You can download the video or audio of past sermons here.)

As the missionary C.T. Studd once said:

Only one life, twill soon be past.
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Life is God’s gift to us, and what we do with it is our gift to Him. I want to steward my life for the glory of God!

This article was originally posted on The Pastor’s Perspective.