“Earn it.” You have been given a very precious gift. Your life has been bought at a very dear price. Others have died so that you might live. You have not earned this—yet. But now you can. You can live the rest of your life in a manner that honors the gift and the ones who paid the price. You can value the gift of your life at least as much as they did. Earn it. Basic stewardship, I think . . . the same message Jesus gave his friends just before he died.

John M. Buchanan

October 18, 1998

Full Sermon

https://fourthchurch.org/sermons/1998/101898.html