Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
- Luke 15:11-12

Over the last two weeks, we’ve looked at two lost sons. One was rebellious and ended up lost in a country far from home. The other was self-righteous and ended up lost in his own backyard. And at the center of this wild story is the father who joins these two lost boys together. We’ll be looking at this story from his perspective this week.

From the start, this father has been surprising. When the rebellious son comes to him and asks for his inheritance, the father gives it to him. The father sells fields and flocks. He takes social scorn onto himself and endures the murmurs from his neighbors. He lets his wild child go.

What is up with this guy?

Perhaps he’s foolish. Maybe he’s weak. It’s possible that he just could never tell this kid “No.” Is he just an enabler? Jesus doesn’t give us any insight into this.

All we see is that the father is generous.

Whatever else he is, he’s generous. We’ll see his economic and social generosity all throughout this story. His kids know he’s generous. That’s his reputation. And his core of generosity never seems to be exhausted.

When you think about God, do you think of him as generous?

Everything we have, we have from the generous hand of God. We didn’t make or earn a single second of time. The raw materials we use to build our lives come to us as gifts from him. Every sunset and croaking frog lands on our doorsteps as a present from our heavenly father.

Take some time today to thank God for his generosity to you. Make a list (or start to). Saying “Thank you to God” is a pathway that leads us to appreciating all that we’ve been given.