The God Who Gives

The God Who Gives

Read: Luke 15:11-32

“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

“God never tires of giving.”

—William Still

IN WORD We call this the story of the Prodigal Son, but it is perhaps even more the story of a compassionate father. We are told that in the culture of Jesus’ listeners, as in any Middle Eastern culture, the younger son’s request is extremely offensive. Because estates are never distributed until a father’s death, the son might as well have said, “I wish you were already dead so that I could do what I want with your possessions.”

Isn’t this an accurate picture of the human race? Haven’t we all sought independence from God, calling His gifts—the body He gave us, the talents we were born with, the material goods He’s allowed us to have—our own possessions to do with as we please? At some point in our lives, sinful pride has led us to go our own way, not acknowledging God in our hearts and living, for all practical purposes, as though He were dead. We, like the younger son and all the rest of humanity, have at least once acted as if He were not our Father.

To Jesus’ first hearers, the offense of the younger son is stunning. But what is even more stunning is the response of the father. He gives. He knows the true nature of both of his sons, and he still gives them their inheritance.

IN DEED Many of us live under the impression that receiving gifts from God is like pulling teeth. We pray and plead for this or that blessing, often ignoring the precious gifts He has already given. But God is a giver. He has already given to us abundantly. He will continue to give. It is a Father’s nature.