The Gracious & Generous God 

 

Consider this…
 
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:13),

“The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Pro. 15:3)

In spite of this, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matt. 5:45). Wow. That blows my mind. The way God lavishes his goodness to undeserving, unworthy, ungrateful people all over the world is worth sparing a moment to ponder.

Think with me for a minute. Let’s consider some of the evil we see in our world today: murder, racism, modern day slavery, wars, idolatry, poverty, corruption, the list goes on. If God sees all these things, why is he allowing it to go on when he is able to stop it all in an instant? The answer lies in his nature, his generosity. “The Lord is gracious and compassionate slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all he has compassion on all he has made.” (Psalm 145:8-9).

This is the same compassion the city of Nineveh experienced when Jonah was sent to preach against their wickedness (Jonah 1:2; 3:10). The book of Jonah did not give details of the wickedness in Nineveh, it simply states that “its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). However, the book of Nahum gives us an insight into how wicked Nineveh was. They plot evil and devise wicked plans against the Lord (Nahum 1:11). They are described as a “city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” (Nahum 3:1).

Though judgment was already pronounced upon Nineveh, when they humbled themselves, turned from their sins and repented, God in his mercies and compassion relented. He “did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” (Jonah 3:10).

We all benefit from God’s grace and generosity. In creation we see how he lavishes his love and goodness in the vast array of the things he created for us to enjoy. There are over 20,000 species of bees known to us, over 390,000 flowering plants, in the region of 100 -400 billion stars in the galaxy that we know of. There are many more things we are yet to discover. He creates, we discover. And as long as we draw breath, we will not stop discovering God’s creation. He does not give us enough; he gives in abundance.

There is more than enough food to go round all the 8 billion people in the world, yet there is so much lack, so much poverty in the world, so much hunger. Many have more than they need, and they’d rather hoard, stockpile, or allow it to go to ruin instead of giving it out or sharing. Thank God for the many rich and generous people who share and give to the poor. But we all ought to do more sharing, more giving. We all need to be like our generous father.

When we consider how generous our God is, we should undoubtedly burst out in praise of him. “All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you.” (Psalm 145:10). Much more than that, our response should be to emulate our father. Let us be a generous people. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Heb. 13:16)

Think about ways you can be generous this week, think about how God could use you to bless someone and significantly change their lives for the better. Then take the next bold step and actually do it.