"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor striving according to His power which mightily works within me." ~Colossians 1:24-2:5 (NASB)
Paul says, "Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God," I love the idea of stewardship that Paul talks about here. Paul didn't earn the job he was given and he wasn't "boss" over the people he ministered to, God is the one who entrusted Paul with the responsibility of ministering to the church by preaching the word of God.
I believe this can be applied to us too. What has God made you a steward over? For me, at this time in my life I am a steward of my household. Everything I do as a stay-at-home mom is a ministry to my family, whether it be making sure we have clean laundry, shopping for groceries and feeding my family, or disciplining my children. My household does not belong to me, my children do not belong to me, my husband does not belong to me... they all belong to God and he has entrusted me as a minister to our household.
Paul goes on to talk about his "labor" and his "struggle" for the church of which he is a minister. It indicates that it isn't always easy and it requires sacrifice (in fact, he was in prison for preaching the word of God when he wrote this), but he does it because that is the job that God entrusted him with and because he cares so deeply for the church that he desires to "present every man complete in Christ." Likewise, I should be willing to make sacrifices and endure some struggle as part of my role as a steward in my household knowing that my labor is for the ultimate purpose of presenting those under my stewardship complete in Christ.
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