Do you know the name of the person who just delivered your package? Perhaps you saw the Amazon truck drive up or pull away, or maybe you just found the box on your doorstep. But did you notice the person bringing the package to you? Some of the most helpful people in your life are “invisible.” You don’t “see” them, but you know they are there, or in most cases, you know they have been there…because the goods arrived.
Whether it’s Amazon, Walmart +, or the U.S. Mail, those working for these services are not only the most helpful to you, but they are also the most trustworthy. How do I know? Because the package arrived. A task completed and a job well done.
In his book Following the Invisible Jesus, Mike Jette chronicles his faith journey and some of the lessons the Lord taught him. Reflecting on his career in financial advising, he admits grappling with the purpose of wealth and his perspectives on asset management. Mike learned God’s point of view from his wrestling and likens it to a UPS driver.
“When the owner of a parcel prepares it for shipping, the expectation is that it will reach its destination. The truck driver does not regard the package as personal property. They do not unload the truck into their garage. The goal is to get the package to the destination the owner intended.”
Scripture teaches God is the owner of all things, and like the UPS driver, we have temporary custody of the packages. We are to be God’s asset manager, investing in what He values most—people. He gave His life for people. We are to partner with Him in His work—loving our neighbors and, yes, even our enemies as we love ourselves. By our love, others will know we are His disciples. We are to be His deliverer of “the goods” to His intended destination. We are to grow in this grace of giving and caring for the needs of others.
God calls us to be His most helpful and trustworthy delivery personnel as we deploy what He has entrusted us for His intended purpose and use—not ours.
This is Biblical Stewardship. It begins with rightly understanding our role in life is to be a conduit of God’s grace to His world. Everything belongs to God, and He has a purpose for everything He has made and has given to us. God places time, abilities, experiences, influence, and finances on the delivery truck of our lives and calls us to deliver all of it to the addresses He desires.
Each time a package arrives at your home and you receive your mail, remember that God’s greater call on your life is to deliver the Gospel and grace. When you deliver food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, care to the sick, welcome to the stranger, and time to the prisoner…when you provide for the elderly, the poor, and the orphan…when you give grace and support, as Jesus said, to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.”
Then, for us, it will be a task completed and a job well done.