A Personal Gift Plan is in Each Christian’s Heart
A Personal Gift Plan is in Each Christian’s Heart
Someone once said that if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plan. Isn’t it such a comfort that, as called and chosen children of God, we know He has a plan for our life? “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11.
Because He sacrificed His only Son to make us heirs of His kingdom, we know that the plan He has for us is a great one!
Be my Stewards of my Creation
God is the Owner of all creation but He entrusted it to His human creatures to manage wisely for His purposes, as we state in the Lutheran definition of Christian stewardship.
We were put here on earth to make a contribution—to Transfer the Blessings. We were made in His image to share in His work.
Even though sin and disobedience fractured the relationship with God, God’s expectations for His people have not changed. The need and capacity to serve was in us from the beginning. The more we are conscious of this purpose, the easier it will be to figure out what this job is at any given time. It is primarily found in focusing our attention on others.
He wants His people to live a full and abundant life. He opened up this potential by sending His only-begotten Son to be our Savior and Lord. Through Jesus, God brings all things together under one head, even Christ. (Ephesians 1:3-14)
“Christian stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God and God’s family, the church, in managing all of life and life’s resources for God’s purposes.
-LCMS Official Definition of Stewardship
Deep down inside, each of us wants to leave something behind. We want to leave a legacy. We want to be significant. We want an epitaph with substance. God put this desire in us because it is one of our purposes in life.
LCMS Biblical Stewardship Principles Speak to God’s Plan for our Lives
God’s stewards are managers, not owners. God’s stewards have been entrusted by God with life and life’s resources and given the privilege of responsibly and joyfully managing them for Him. There is no part of our life that is not of interest to God. For example, God is not only concerned about that portion of financial resources we contribute to His church in offerings, as generous as they may be, but about how we manage 100% of the financial resources He has entrusted to us. His plan for our lives covers how we earn, spend, give, invest and bequeath the financial resources we like to call our own.
God’s stewards live with an awareness of the present and the future, of time and eternity. This means that God’s stewards live intentionally in the light of God’s eternal purpose while being firmly committed to His rule in the here and now. God’s stewards seek to honor God by wisely putting financial resources to work in support of His kingdom right now. They also seek to honor God by developing plans to put financial resources to work in the support of His kingdom after they depart this earthly life.
God Promises to Help Us Accomplish His Plan
It takes discipline and intentional planning to accomplish in our lives what our God desires, but He promises to be with us in the process. “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
God’s will is expressed in the form of a command, but what God commands He also enables us to do because it is in our best interest.
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (I Timothy 6: 17-19)
The most blessed words we will ever hear are those that will come from our Lord as we enter heaven: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your Master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:14-30, especially vv 21 and 23).
The Meaning of ’s
The blessings of faithful stewardship begin with understanding ownership. In my early childhood education I was taught the meaning of ’s. It meant possession or showed ownership.
In our world we are caught up in the goal of ownership by saying, “I have this” or “I have that,” or “I don’t have this or that.” Remember the saying, “the one with the most toys wins?”
The gospel recognizes the one who owns all things. We are therefore managers, not owners. Everything has been entrusted to us to care for until the Master returns.
When 's applies to me, I learn my body is not my own. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from the God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
Apply the ’s to money. Learn from the parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-20). Who is going to get what you have prepared? Is this life about building bigger barns for me? It is really about “Transferring the Blessings” for God’s purposes, not my pleasures.
When we blend money and me under the ’s, we develop what we call stored me. Money enables me to serve at a distance in situations where I cannot be physically involved. That’s all it is.
God has called us to Transfer the Blessings entrusted to us so that they will become blessings for others.
As a result we recognize there is no such thing as Christian giving, only Christian management. “But who am I, who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have only given you what comes from Your hand” (I Chronicles 29:14).
A Question of Management, Not Ownership
This changes our line of questioning. No longer do we ask, “How much do we have to give to God?” Now we ask, “How much of what is God’s can we in good conscience use just for ourselves?”
Such a question can be asked without worry. The one who owns it all promises to care for those with whom He entrusts it all. And we call that faith!
In Genesis 22, Abraham is about to take the knife to Isaac as a sacrifice. God says to Abraham, “Don’t lay a hand on the boy, for I now know that you would not withhold anything from me, not even your only son.” Abraham then went and built an altar and called it “The Lord will provide!”
This is the perfect relationship that God wants with His people; a complete faith that He will provide.
Stewardship and God’s Love — Mission
God’s love always goes out; that is mission. He is love and he always loves. As His new creation through baptism we are created to be about this same love mission.
Take all that is God’s (love, me, money) and spread it all out. That is stewardship.
Stewardship without mission is unnecessary. Mission without stewardship is impossible!
As we think about God’s plan for us, we realize that He has entrusted so much to each of us to be used for His purposes. When we talk about Transfer the Blessings, we are not talking about building bigger barns. We are talking about building more ways to share God’s love.
Our Lord promises to enrich us heart, mind and soul as we give. And He promises to provide for our needs in such a way that we always have the ability to give to others.
A Personal Gift Plan is in Each Christian’s Heart
We recognize that God has placed a Personal Gift Plan in each Christian’s heart. Our goal as Gift Planners is to help members to bring that plan to the surface and make it become a reality.
For many years, I have worked with God’s people from the first stage of the gift planning process through to their death and the completion of that planned gift. When distributing checks from these gifts, it amazes me how they exactly match the needs of the ministries they were intended to bless. God knew this, years before, when He put the plan in the member’s heart.
Transfer the Blessings
Transfer the Blessings entrusted to us accomplishes God’s mission for HIS purposes, not ours.
The challenge we have as Gift Planners is to help as many people as possible to accomplish their Personal Gift Plan. The goal of this stewardship process is to concentrate all of God’s resources on getting Jesus into the hearts of people.
In order that the Gift Planning process remains as pure in purpose and be sustained forever, each congregation needs to recognize this as its stewardship responsibility toward its members. Otherwise, donors look at various ministries who attempt gift planning as self-serving, only hoping to obtain a gift from the donor for their purpose or benefit.
The LCMS Foundation was established for Gift Planning – to assist members in completing their plan for the ministry God has placed in their heart. The Foundation was developed to provide all of the necessary assistance to help a member make their gift plan become a reality.
Today we are training congregations in this very important stewardship process and offering the Foundation’s support to ensure Personal Gift Plans are completed in the very best possible way. The Transfer the Blessings diagram shares the plan for implementing training and supporting the Gift Planning process within each congregation.
Invitation and Encouragement
Join us in this stewardship focus that will help bring the Joy of the Master to the hearts of your congregation to Transfer the Blessings. Together, we will accomplish the mission of sharing the Gospel with those who yet do not know Jesus.
Next to introducing a person to Jesus Christ and the redemptive work that He has done on our behalf, helping people know the joy of giving is the best thing that you can do for a person’s walk with the Risen Lord!
There are attributes & characteristics of God one will never experience apart from the experience and relationship of giving.
Terry L. Gerdts
LCMS Foundation
Senior Vice President – Gift Planning Services
Source acknowledgements – Rev. Larry Reinhardt, LCMS Director of Stewardship Ministry, St. Louis, Mo. Rev. Keith Christiansen, Director of Saint Paul Institute for Education, Concordia, Mo. Phil Meinzen, President of Concordia Institute for Financial Leadership.
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