The generosity of God

Perhaps the most well known verse of the Bible is "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...' (John 3:16). At the core of this verse is the generosity of God. His generosity however is unlike our generosity in so far as His nature is to give even to those who are ungrateful and to those who reject Him. Human generosity is generally expressed between people of like values and similarity of societal norms. I would venture to state that the generosity of God however, is the most transformative agent on the planet. It is potent because it is counterculture. It is potent because it cuts across what we would consider 'fair and just'.


Luke 6:35 says "...He is kind to the unthankful and evil..." God gives His best for the worst. He gives to those who are ingrates of His generosity. We can feel aggrieved when we receive rejection from people that we have helped or to whom we have offered relief. God's heart however extends to those whom He knows will mishandle and even abuse His generosity. His heart is seen in the story of the prodigal son which could easily be called the story of the father who never gives up loving his children. The whole point of the story is to provoke us to think upon the amazing generosity of heart of our heavenly Father. What sort of God continues to pour out His love on people who fail and fall short, people like you and I?


When we sense and receive His generosity, we are empowered to be generous to those who may be ungrateful and even to those who may abuse His generosity. I once felt aggrieved when I helped a family in need with a food parcel only to be told that what I had delivered was not good enough. I felt aggrieved because I thought that the parcel could have gone to someone who might have appreciated it and who was at least grateful. As I left that home, I sensed the Holy spirit tell me that that the food parcel was not mine. It was His. Therefore He could dispense it however and to whomever he wanted. I was to be the carrier of His generosity, no more, no less. It was not up to me to judge the worthiness of the recipient. It was up to me to be the carrier of His generosity.


It is "the goodness (loving kindness) of God that leads to repentance." (Rom.2:4) It is His goodness or generosity of heart, that leads to a change of both mind and heart. "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing you heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.' (Rom.12:20-21) Generosity will change hearts and minds for good!








This blog is based on a message by Pastor Ross Smith, The Vine Church, Logan City, Queensland, Australia,  entitled "The generosity of God" (07/12/14) and can be assessed by podcast from www.thevine.org.au/teaching.