His Generosity

We learn about God‘s character and nature from the Bible, and we learn that one of God‘s traits is His generosity.

And the word that has kept coming to mind is the word, “lavish”.

In the NIV, 1 John 3:1 reads: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”

And in the KJV, it reads “abounded toward us” which means to show something super-abundant, more than what is needed, and way above what is necessary.

Ephesians 1:7-8a (NASB) tells us, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.”

The word lavished can mean: ‘showered, richly poured, poured out His kindness, abounded toward, caused to abound, made to abound toward, gave to us in such large measure.’

We are given lavishly by God in order that we can, in turn, pour out to overflowing to those who do not know the Lord.

Looking back at 1 John 3:1a, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”; reminds us that as children of God, His character can be ours. And we should reflect and be like our Father in Heaven by being generous.

An example from Scripture that comes to mind is Daniel who served in the kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and later in the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians under Darius.

In Daniel 6:3 it tells us that Daniel distinguished himself and he possessed an extraordinary spirit. In Daniel 6:4 it says that he was faithful in his service to the king.

Darius the king trusted Daniel and saw his godly character.

After Darius was tricked by his evil and jealous advisers, Daniel was thrown in the lions’ den.

In Daniel 6:14 it tells us that Darius was deeply distressed over Daniel’s plight.

And in Daniel 6:16, Darius gives testimony of God and prays a prophetic prayer for Daniel’s deliverance: “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” Daniel’s living testimony had obviously had an impact on Darius’ life and we can even say Daniel’s life exemplified God’s lavishness.

In Matthew 10:18-22 Jesus was preparing His disciples and us for future interactions with the governing authorities. These will be opportunities for us to give testimony to them. We are also promised His lavish assurance that He will be with us.