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Maturing stewards make the most of new starts. St. Paul wrote the following words in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” What a marvelous thought for Christian stewards entering into a New Year.

2010 is gone and with it go the failures and sins of the past. Yes, they remain in our memories and can provide us with good lessons of life as we look to the future, but the real good news is that we have a fresh new start, and maturing stewards make the most of each new start.

A new year reminds us of God’s gift of time and points us to Scripture passages like Psalm 90:12: “Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise.” Galatians 6:10 also provides words of encouragement: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Yes, the past is gone and the future is not yet ours, even though it holds out hope. What we have with each new year and day is the present and God’s forgiveness and strength to live renewed lives, using all of life and life’s resources to give glory to God and provide blessings to those around us.

There’s an old poem that talks about two people riding in a covered wagon—one in the front, looking forward, and one in the back, looking behind. Both people were in the same place, but their perspectives were very different. As new creations in Christ, we, like St. Paul, adopt the motto: “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, we press on with the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Happy New Year, maturing Christian stewards, and may God bless you richly as you say and do those things that honor him and bless others!

Saint John’s Stewardship Board promotes the development of good stewardship and giving patterns among the members of Saint John’s.