Predicazioni/1Pietro/Amministratori della multiforme grazia di Dio/English version
Stewards of God’s Manifold Grace
What Does a Truly Fulfilled Life Look Like?
Our culture tends to equate a fulfilled life with success, security, and the absence of responsibility. The Apostle Peter, however, invites us to view our existence from an entirely different perspective. In 1 Peter 4:10–11, he reminds us that everything we are and possess is a gift of God’s grace, and that we are called to steward it faithfully for the service of others and for His glory. This is a biblical reflection on the vocation of every disciple of Christ, in every season of life.
What Is a Fulfilled Life?
What does a successful life look like—a life that has truly achieved its purpose, the end for which it was lived?
If we were to ask this question to a hundred people, we would likely receive a hundred different answers. Yet, I believe many, perhaps without admitting it openly, share a similar ideal. They think: “When I finally finish my studies… when I finally have a stable job… when I have saved enough… when my children, if I have any, are settled… when retirement finally arrives… then I will be able to focus on myself, rest, and at last enjoy life.”
There is, of course, nothing wrong with desiring rest after years of labour and responsibility. Rest itself is a gift from God. The problem arises when rest becomes the purpose of life—when our ideal becomes having fewer responsibilities, fewer people to care for, fewer opportunities to give of ourselves for the sake of others.
We must also acknowledge that this ideal is increasingly difficult to attain today. For many, it is little more than a dream. Pensions are often uncertain or insufficient, the cost of living continues to rise, health problems do not disappear with the end of work, and new responsibilities arise even in old age. Many discover that life does not conform at all to the plan they had imagined.
But even if everything were to go as we hope, a more important question remains. Suppose we do reach that moment when work is finished, children have found their own path, and we can freely dispose of our time. Is this truly the goal of existence? Is this the purpose for which God created us? Did He create us so that, at some point, we might live primarily for ourselves, free from responsibility? Or did He create us for a purpose that accompanies us throughout every season and circumstance of life?
The culture in which we live conditions us to believe that freedom consists in having fewer duties and more time for ourselves. God, however—who gave us life and speaks to us through Scripture—teaches us to view our lives from a different perspective. He does not first ask us: “What do you want to do with your life?” Instead, He asks: “What are you doing now, in the circumstances in which you find yourself, with the talents and resources God has entrusted to you?” This is a profound difference. For the world tends to see us as owners of our lives, our time, our abilities, and our means. The Bible, however, teaches us to see ourselves as stewards. Nothing that we are or possess is, in fact, truly our own. All is grace. All has been received. All has been entrusted to us. All carries responsibility.
The Biblical Text
It is to this very question that the Apostle Peter responds in the passage we are about to examine. He writes to Christians enduring difficult times. They might have been tempted to withdraw into themselves, to grow discouraged, or to think only of their own survival. Instead, Peter reminds them of the believer’s vocation in every circumstance. In just a few verses, he offers not only teachings on Christian service but a vision of life capable of giving meaning, dignity, and hope to every season of our existence.
The Bible does not teach us to live while waiting for the day when we will have no more responsibilities. It teaches us to live by asking: What responsibility has God entrusted to me today? Let us, then, listen to the Word of God:
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10–11, ESV)
1. We Have All Received from God
The Apostle begins with a word both simple and profound: “each”. No one is excluded. Although Peter addresses every disciple of Christ here, the principle underlying his exhortation applies, in truth, to every human being. All that we are able to do—every ability, every talent, every resource that is truly good—ultimately comes from God. Before speaking of what we must do, the Word of God reminds us of what we have received. No one can say: “I have nothing to offer.” Abilities may differ, opportunities may not be equal for all, and life’s circumstances may vary greatly from person to person, but no one has been forgotten by God.
Peter adds that each has received a gift—literally, a charisma, a gift of God’s grace. We are accustomed to distinguishing between “natural” gifts and “spiritual” gifts. This distinction is useful, but it must not cause us to overlook a more fundamental truth: every authentic gift comes from God. There is the special grace by which God leads us to faith in Christ, saves us, and sanctifies us. But there is also what Christian theology has traditionally called common grace, by which God continues to bestow benefits upon all humanity. The intelligence of a scientist, the sensitivity of an artist, the skill of a craftsman, the dedication of a nurse, the patience of a parent, the wisdom gained with age—all these, in the final analysis, find their origin in the goodness of the Creator. “What do you have that you did not receive?” asks the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 4:7).
This perspective restores dignity to every person and profoundly changes the way we view ourselves. Our worth does not depend on the wealth we possess, the social position we occupy, the health we enjoy, or the efficiency with which we work. It depends, first and foremost, on the fact that God created us, sustains us daily by His grace, and entrusts us with something to steward for His good purposes. For this reason, no disciple of Christ can consider themselves useless. No one “retires” from their vocation. Strength, health, opportunities, and even the way we serve may change, but the call to use what the Lord continues to entrust to us for the good of others and for His glory never ceases.
2. We Are Stewards, Not Owners
After reminding us that all we have is received, Peter adds a word that completely transforms our view of life. He calls us “good stewards of God’s varied grace”. A steward is not the owner of the goods they manage. They administer what belongs to another and, sooner or later, must give an account of it. Even the Italian word economia (economy) derives from this same concept: the good administration of a household. Peter thus reminds us that our lives do not belong to us absolutely. Time, abilities, material resources, the experience accumulated over the years, relationships, the opportunities God grants us—all have been entrusted to us so that we may use them wisely and faithfully.
This is a perspective very different from the one most prevalent today. Our culture conditions us to think: “My life is mine; my time is mine; my possessions are mine; even my talents are mine… I may do with them as I please.” The Word of God, however, invites us to ask a different question: “How does the Lord desire that I steward what He has entrusted to me?” This is a radical change. We are not called, first and foremost, to fulfil ourselves, but to be faithful. The Lord will not ask us to account for what He has not given us, but for how we have used what He has entrusted to us. This is the principle we also find in the Parable of the Talents: what matters is not that we all receive the same amount, but that we are found faithful in stewarding what we have received.
Peter further notes that this grace is “varied”—that is, manifold, rich, wonderfully diverse. God does not distribute His gifts uniformly. No one possesses everything, and no one is devoid of everything. This is a wise choice of the Lord. He has willed that we should need one another. John Calvin, commenting on this very text, observed that God distributes His gifts differently precisely to create a bond of mutual dependence and service. No one can say, “I have no need of others,” and no one should think, “Others have no need of me.” In this way, God builds a community founded not on competition but on cooperation, not on self-sufficiency but on mutual gratitude.
Even those who today live isolated from a local Christian community may ask themselves: In what way, in the circumstances in which I find myself, can I use what God has entrusted to me for the good of others and the advancement of His Kingdom? Naturally, this does not mean that the Lord does not call us, when possible, to live in the concrete fellowship of a Christian community. It does mean, however, that no circumstance of life can nullify our vocation to serve God and our neighbour.
3. Serving with God’s Strength, for God’s Glory
Peter concludes with two concrete examples. “If anyone speaks,” he says, “they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.” “If anyone serves,” they should do so “with the strength God provides.” In this way, he embraces virtually every form of Christian ministry: that of the word and that of action. His concern, however, is not so much to list the different services as to show us the spirit with which they must be carried out.
Those who teach are not called merely to express their own opinions but to faithfully transmit the Word of God. Those who serve must not rely solely on their own strength but must recognise that it is God Himself who provides the necessary power. In both cases, the protagonist is not the human being but God.
When Peter speaks of those who “speak,” he is not thinking only of those who preach publicly. He refers to all those to whom God has entrusted a ministry of the Word: preachers, teachers, instructors in the faith, evangelists, counsellors, and those who encourage others. If the Lord has given us this gift and opens opportunities for us to exercise it, we cannot keep it to ourselves. We must place it at the service of others. But Peter adds a decisive clarification: we must speak “as one who speaks the very words of God.” This does not mean speaking with arrogance or claiming infallibility. It means remembering that the message does not belong to us. Our task is not to transmit our own ideas, the fashions of the moment, or our personal preferences, but to be faithful interpreters of God’s Word. The more a ministry is submitted to the Word of God, the less those who exercise it will feel the need to place themselves at the centre.
When Peter speaks, instead, of those who “serve,” he uses the language of diakonía (deacon-like service). His gaze broadens to all those concrete forms of service through which the love of Christ becomes visible. Consider assistance to those in need, visiting the lonely or the sick, hospitality, encouragement, listening, care for the weak, and all those often unseen services that make church life possible and contribute to the good of society. Some of these services are exercised officially, others simply and spontaneously, without public recognition. In God’s eyes, however, it is not the visibility of the service that matters but the faithfulness with which it is performed and the love with which it is rendered. For this reason, Peter adds that every service must be carried out “with the strength God provides”—not trusting in our self-sufficiency but continually recognising that every ability to serve comes from the Lord.
This teaching frees us from two opposite temptations. On the one hand, it frees us from pride, because everything we do depends on God’s grace. On the other, it frees us from discouragement, because the Lord does not ask us to serve relying solely on our own strength. He continues to sustain His children in the different seasons of life. Our energy may wane, circumstances may change, and we may be forced to leave one service to take up another. But God continues to provide what is necessary to fulfil the vocation He entrusts to us today. He does not demand of us what we can no longer do; He calls us to be faithful with what we can do now.
Finally, Peter reminds us of the ultimate purpose of all this: “so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” God’s glory is not something we can increase, as if God needed us to become more glorious. He is already perfect in His glory. We, however, can ensure that His glory shines more clearly through our lives. The glory of God is the manifestation of His greatness, goodness, and holiness as recognised by His creatures. When we faithfully steward what He has entrusted to us, when our words reflect His truth, when our service manifests His love, when our faithfulness makes His grace visible—then people are not led to admire us but to recognise the goodness, wisdom, and faithfulness of the Lord. This is the supreme purpose of human existence.
As the Westminster Shorter Catechism states: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.” We may now answer the question with which we began this reflection. A fulfilled life—a life that has truly achieved its purpose, a life that is truly satisfying—is not one that has accumulated the most, achieved the greatest success, or managed to free itself from all responsibility. It is one that, in every season of its existence, has faithfully stewarded the grace it received, has served others with what God entrusted to it, and has sought, above all else, the glory of its Lord.
Conclusion
We began today by asking a question: What is a fulfilled life—a life that has truly achieved its purpose? The Apostle Peter has helped us answer. A fulfilled life is not one that has simply accumulated goods, achieved a position, or secured a tranquil independence. It is one that has recognised that it has received everything from God, has faithfully stewarded what the Lord entrusted to it, and has placed it at the service of others.
The question, then, becomes deeply personal. What has the Lord entrusted to me today? What abilities, experiences, resources, time, relationships, and opportunities to do good are in my hands at this moment? Am I using them solely for my own interests, or am I stewarding them faithfully for the good of others? And if some doors have closed, am I asking what new opportunities for service God, in His providence, is opening for me in the concrete circumstances in which I live? God will give me the strength to fulfil my task in the best way. I can trust in Him.
Let us, therefore, entrust our entire lives to the Lord. Let us not ask Him merely to bless our plans but to teach us to be faithful stewards of His grace. And when, one day, our earthly service is complete, may He grant us to hear those words that every disciple longs to hear:
“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21, ESV)
The Christian never retires from serving their Lord. Duties may change, strength may fade, tools may differ, but we remain, always, stewards of God’s manifold grace.
Prayer
O our Father, we thank You because all that we are and all that we possess comes from Your goodness. You created us, sustain us daily by Your grace, and entrust us with gifts, abilities, and opportunities to serve You. Forgive us when we have lived as if our lives belonged to us, when we have sought our own interests first, when we have neglected the gifts You have entrusted to us or used them for our own glory rather than Yours. Grant us grateful and faithful hearts. Teach us to recognise, in the circumstances in which we find ourselves today, what vocation You continue to entrust to us. Make us ready to serve our neighbour with humility, love, and the strength You Yourself provide—without discouragement over our limitations and without pride in our gifts. May others, through our words, our work, our service, and our entire lives, recognise Your goodness and give glory to You through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Paolo Castellina 15 July 2026