For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
–John 3:16 NET
When kids come to the door at Halloween they say, “Trick or Treat.” Their hope—indeed, their expectation—is that you will give them lots of candy. Even without necessarily knowing your character, they expect you to be generous. How much more should we expect generosity from our loving Heavenly Father!
God is and has always been a generous God. He consistently gives us far more than we deserve. If you doubt that, think about Creation. God spoke into existence an entire universe, full of an uncounted number of incredible things, and gave all of it to humanity. More than that, God shared His very presence with Adam and Eve. (Read Genesis 1 & 2.)
Yet what did they do? They focused on the one thing that God had denied them—even though it was for their own good! They chose to ignore God’s overwhelming generosity and nurtured a scarcity mindset. Tempted by Satan, they focused on the one thing they could not have over all that they did have—and it cost them nearly everything. And all of us repeat their mistake to this day.
In the midst of this tragic situation, faced with their outright betrayal, what does God do? He ignited hope with the most generous act in all of recorded history. He promised them—and us—redemption (see Genesis 3:15). While they didn’t fully understand it at the time, we now understand the reality of that promise: “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NET).
God is a generous God who ignites hope through acts of generosity. We have the privilege to do the same!
ACTION: If we want to follow God’s example of generosity, we need to understand how generous He truly has been. Take time to write a list of the ways God has been generous to you. Start by reading and meditating on the verses in this list.
https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Generosity,-God~s
