After today’s reading, go to pages 52-53 of your Awaken Guidebook and take a few minutes to complete the “Look Back” section and the “Pray About It” section.
Read Luke 16:9-11 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
- What are we to use our worldly resources for? Why?
- What do our actions in little things reveal about what we’ll do with big things?
- If we’re trustworthy about worldly wealth, what else can we be trusted with?
Reflect
Jesus repeatedly challenged people’s view and stewardship of money, and today’s passage is no different. In this dialogue with His disciples, He urged them to use worldly wealth in such a way that it would impact someone’s eternal future. He wanted them to think beyond this world to their eternal rewards in heaven.
If there’s one thing that can keep us asleep in life, it’s using our resources for ourselves rather than stewarding them in a way that brings others to know Jesus. Only eternal works get rewarded in eternity, and the only thing that’s eternal is the souls of people. Today’s verses remind us to not only invest in eternity, but to be faithful with whatever amount we’ve been given. It’s easy to compare others’ external purchases with our internal bank account balance. But God simply calls us to be faithful with what we have.
What if you stepped into eternity and had people approach you, saying, “The way you used worldly wealth is the reason I’m here. I met Jesus because of your generosity”? Whatever little or much you’ve been given, steward it in a way that leads to kingdom impact. Because if it doesn’t matter for eternity, it doesn’t matter.
Respond
- Who has invested in your own walk with Jesus that you want to thank someday in heaven? Perhaps people who have invested in you personally or who have invested financially in ministries or buildings where you were introduced to Jesus? You may not know their names, but you can thank God for them. If someone comes to mind that you can thank right now, take a step to reach out.
- When you think about what you’ve been entrusted with in this life, whether little or much, have you been faithful with it? What might God be asking you to do as a step of further trust in this area?
- As you take inventory of your own life, what opportunities do you have to steward your resources toward things that matter for eternity? What is a next step you can take?
As you process these questions, use page 53 of your Awaken Guidebook to jot down any key reflections or next steps. Be sure to bring your guidebook to your group! Page 54 is a great place to write down things that you want to process together.