The Reconciliation of All Things

In Chapter One of Bauckham's book, he delves into what "stewardship" means. From a Christian perspective, the main usage of the term is regarding the steward's responsibility to God. The secular use of the term stewardship lacks any theological content. Bauckham then goes on the describe the various criticisms of "stewardship" as we see or hear about them today. First, some say this concept of Stewardship is Hubris , unnecessary. The earth will take care of itself, it is self-regulating, with or without us. Much of the modern environmental movement speaks of this. Think back to Julia Roberts narrating for "Mother Nature" in Conservation International's video a few years back. Here is the video Julia Roberts: Nature is Speaking . However, much of the criticism coming from this perspective is a reaction to the faulty Christian idea that humans are in charge of the whole Earth and its destiny. The problem with this faulty Christian perspective ...

As you may know, my wife and I are in the process of raising support to go overseas as missionaries. It’s a difficult task, if you look at it from a human perspective. It can be discouraging, depressing, and defeating all at the same time—and then you get a surprise donor in the middle of that quagmire you were wallowing in which actually lifts your spirits and reminds you that it’s not because of you, but because of HIM that you’re doing this thing called support raising…and since He’s called you to the task, He’ll provide the way, in His time, if we’re faithful to obey Him from beginning to end…oh, no, not obedience during the support raising process—I’m talking about our lives on this earth, obeying Him from beginning to end. And you know, in the process of struggling through these human emotions of mine, trying to trust Him through it all, I think I’m beginning to understand a bit how the whole thing works…yet because it’s a God thing, I really haven’t even scratched the surfac...