The Landlord’s Responsibilities

Most people have had the experience of renting a home before they could purchase one. The renter is expected to make good decisions about keeping up the home. They are not to destroy it. They are to take good care of it. If something goes wrong, like the roof needs repairing or the plumbing needs fixing, the owner of the home is responsible to take care of those needs. The renter is like a steward, keeping the home in good condition; the owner is the one who makes the ultimate decisions for the upkeep of the home.

It’s the same with our spiritual lives. When we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, we are acknowledging that God has now purchased us with the blood of His Son. We now belong to Him and it is His responsibility to make the ultimate decisions for our lives. We who belong to Him have the responsibility of being good stewards. We learn what the owner wants and we take steps to stay within what He wills for us.

If major repairs need to be made, like the roof of our understanding gets blown away by a tornado of unprecedented problems in our lives, it’s up to God, as our owner, to repair the damage with His love, restoring peace while easing away frustrations. Isn’t that wonderful news? We are not responsible for cleaning up the debris of pain and confusion that blows across our paths by any storms of life. Our Father has promised to repair all the damage and to clean up the hurt, mopping up all the pain that floods our hearts.

He has made a promise to all His stewards. It’s found in Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Is that not the most amazing promise by the most amazing Landlord of our lives? Why would we even attempt to repair our own pain or clean up our own confusion? Why would we dare to draw up architectural plans for all our tomorrows when the Master Builder has already logged in the blueprints to give us a hope and a future?

When we try to take on responsibilities of the owner of our lives, we are destined for certain disaster, but when we look to the Master Landlord to take care of all repair and remodeling, we are then destined to be made into something more beautiful than our dreams could imagine and much stronger than any storm that bursts into our days.