Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered, and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…

[Adapted from A Way of Life: Understanding Our Christan Faith by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, Herald House, 2019, pp. 99–100, 103]

Jesus preached and personified the reign of God. His words and actions demonstrated that God’s kingdom had dawned, a reality so all-embracing that it would claim us entirely. Our attraction to the kingdom is such that we freely would give anything and everything to possess it (Matthew 13:44–45) —not by coercion, but in freedom and longing.

God’s reign was and is the gift of a radical new way of life. What makes it radical is that unlike human systems, the center of God’s kingdom is love so costly that its nature is to give itself away. It was into this costly love of God that we were baptized. Letting this love saturate every corner of our lives is the Holy Spirit’s chief work in our journeys of faith. We truly can say that discipleship is birthed from the extravagant love of God.

At the center of our faith is God, the eternal community of persons called the Trinity. The one God is a dance of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit: the Giver, the Given, and the Giving. Revelation thus has taught us to imagine God’s own inner life as one of mutual self-giving. When we say with scripture that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), we can envision reciprocity and sharing, a God whose goodness is so abundant and whose compassion so lavish that we can express only awestruck gratitude.

This divine generosity flows from the being of God. It is present in creation and redemption. As Athanasius, an ancient Christian thinker, put it, instead of the creation, there might have been nothing at all. God is “the one who is” and was therefore complete. And yet, says Athanasius, God did not begrudge existence to other things. God’s goodness is so overflowing that God made space for something other than God. In other words, generosity is woven into the fabric of creation. Giving and sharing are intrinsic to the universe: in cells and suns, in rainforests and deserts, in quasars and atoms.

We seek to live from [this] incomparable gift of a divine love so rich, abundant, unbounded, and unreserved that we cannot help but be generous disciples who delight to lavish God’s love in a groaning creation.

Prayer Phrase

“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Spiritual Practice

Overflowing Generosity

Spend five minutes thinking deeply about how God has shared abundantly with you in very specific ways. Where do you see God’s abundant generosity in your life? Say a prayer of thanksgiving for these blessings. Now, reminded of these blessings, think about how you can bless others. In what ways can God’s abundant generosity overflow from you to others? What specific blessing will you share with another this day?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.