God’s generosity is revealed most clearly in the gospel of Jesus Christ as being extravagant. He enjoys giving his best to no-good sinners.
One autumn day, a certain driver for a shipping company gave way to his lower nature and stole a package. It was a small package from a jewelry company, and his imagination got the best of him—notions of diamonds and riches that could pay off his gambling debts.
He of course knew well he was risking his job, but he was sure he was clever enough to get away with it.
He was wrong. He was nothing special, definitely not clever, just another average student during his school years who since getting this job had an unremarkable level of productivity and who at the casinos had a predictable string of losses.
His venture into crime was quickly uncovered, and he was summoned to a meeting with his supervisor. The supervisor confronted him, laying out the evidence. But then he did what is incomprehensible. Instead of summarily firing the driver, he made him an offer.
“If you will sign a confession of your crime and return the stolen goods, not only will I not fire you, I will forget it happened. I will not put this on your record. What’s more, in five years I promise to promote you and double your salary. In five more years, I will make you a part owner of the company. Thereafter you will receive one hundred shares of company stock as an annual bonus. Finally, I require that you follow me as your mentor for the rest of your days.”
Get real
Okay, so this little parable is far-fetched. Sure, you can find supervisors who give an employee a second chance, but no one promises a thief a promotion and an outlandish raise.
Unless you are the God of the gospel. Compared to what God offers sinners in the gospel, this little parable describes a piddling reward for amending one’s ways.
God’s generosity to a thief
For example, as Jesus hung on the cross, one of the thieves on another cross, who earlier had joined the crowd in heaping abuse on him, had a change of heart. He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42–43)
For a few hours of this criminal’s faith, Jesus did not promise him probation, not merely pardon, but paradise.
God’s generosity to a wasteful son
Similarly, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, when the son who had wasted his father’s inheritance on parties and prostitutes returned home prepared for the worst, his father gave him the best.
“The father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.” (Luke 15:22–23)
Jesus did not promise this foolish son a chilly reception and a long rehabilitation making up for what he had wasted, but a party and the robe, family ring, and sandals of a true, beloved son.
God’s generosity to his servants
Jesus told another surprising parable.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
“And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.
“Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
“And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
Immediate wages
“And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.
“Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’
Seemingly unfair generosity
“But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:1–16)
Jesus said God will not give his workers what they deserve, but rather generosity, extravagant generosity, generosity so extravagant it seems unfair.
Extravagant generosity
In fact, the gospel promises one extravagant reward after another to sinners who sincerely believe in Jesus.
1. He makes them sons and daughters and heirs of all he owns, which is everything (1 Corinthians 3:21–23).
2. He gives them an eternal, resurrection body in the likeness of Jesus (1 John 3:2).
3. He makes them his holy priests (1 Peter 2:9).
4. He makes them powerful kings (1 Peter 2:9).
5. He gives them the glories of the kingdom of God (Luke 12:32).
6. He gives them the pleasures of paradise (Luke 23:43).
7. He gives them the rights of citizenship in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).
8. He rewards them with blessings of the New Creation that for now are only hinted at with symbols and metaphors, like the right to eat from the tree of life; imperviousness to the second death; hidden manna; authority over the nations; the morning star; a white stone with a new name written on it; white garments; one’s name written in the book of life with permanent ink; the acknowledgment of one’s name before the Father and his angels; a tattoo bearing the names of God, the New Jerusalem, and Jesus; and a seat on the throne with Jesus. All these rewards mysterious to us now but guaranteed to be good. (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26–28; 3:5, 12, 21)
9. Best of all, he gives them himself as redeemer, father, friend, king, Lord, elder brother, God, eternal provider, protector, shepherd, and so much more.
All this and more the gospel promises to sinners. While the Old Covenant definitely reveals God’s enormous generosity, nothing reveals his extravagant generosity more than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our way and God’s way
Our way: Sinners expect the worst from God.
God’s way: He is over-the-top generous with bottom-feeding, no-good sinners.
Life principle: If you want the good life, you want God. (John 10:10)
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)