Christian Devotional – June 18, 2021

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 22

Who owns what? Read Matthew 22

As Jesus goes through some intense testing, we read about how the leaders of the day were trying to trick him and get him to mess up and say something they could use to incriminate him. Jesus was perfect in what he said, just like he was perfect in everything he did.

Jesus makes this statement in this verse and it is one that reminds us just how mistaken our thoughts often are when it comes to ownership. We don’t own anything. God owns it all and he allows us to share in that. As a result, he can request us to give anything that he desires.

Do we remember that God owns everything? Do we respond and live like that is true? My husband and I have a running joke that when our kids do something great, we’ll talk about MY son or MY daughter, but when they are misbehaving, they become YOUR son or YOUR daughter. So often we do the same with God. When things are going well, we claim ownership of things and when things are going bad, we tell God he needs to fix his stuff. God is the owner all the time and we are his stewards, responsible for the care of everything he has entrusted us with. Do we do what the owner wants with his things?