The Generosity of God … (January 2025 Update)
There is one attribute of God that is rarely discussed. Yet it is foundational to understanding what kind of God we serve. This is the generosity of God. While it is sometimes discussed under the kindness of God or the love of God in most theological textbooks, rarely much attention is given to it. But the generosity of God is one aspect of God’s character that that is crucial to understanding what an amazing God we serve!
What a person thinks about God affects the way he serves God. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable that we have come to call the “Parable of the Talents.” He tells about a master who gives 3 servants “talents” (a monetary value equal to about 20 years wages) before he goes away. He gives 5 to one, 2 to another and 1 to the last. When the master returns, the first two joyfully give back to the master double the amount he had given to them. The last one returns his one talent says, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” He condemned the servant saying that he should have at least invested the money so he could have gotten some interest from it. But the third servant’s problem was that he viewed his master as stingy instead of generous. Our service of God will never exceed our view of God!
The Bible is full of passages showing the generosity of God in so many ways. Even Genesis shows the generosity of God. In Genesis 2:16, God’s first words to man are full of generosity: “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may freely eat….’” The creation of man begins with God’s generosity to mankind! The generosity of God is why Abraham feels free to ask God for more and more mercy for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). He believed that God was a generous God!
The New Testament is also full of examples of the generosity of God. In Luke 15:23-24, after the prodigal son returns, the father (like God) says to his servants, “bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” In Matthew 22:4, the king sends his servants out with a generous invitation: “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!” And when the invited guests don’t respond, he orders his servants out to bring any that they can find: “So go to the main roads and invite whomever you find there to the wedding feast.” These are just a few examples of the amazing generosity of God!
Paul’s letters are also filled with statements and promises about the generosity of God. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul tells us about our generous God “who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 2:9, he reminds us that God’s generosity even exceeds our imagination. He tells us that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man—the things which God has prepared for those who love him.” One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” That’s generosity!
We could go on and on with examples and verses that show us the generosity of God. The Bible tells us about the “exceeding riches of His grace” (Ephesians 2:7) which has “abounded to many” (Romans 5:15). It tells us about His generous love “which He shed on us abundantly” (Titus 3:6) and “the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe Him” (Ephesians 1:19).
But how should His generosity affect us!
First, it should bring us to worship. 2 Cor. 4:15 tells us that His “abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many resound to the glory of God.” His generosity to us ought to make us generous in our expression of worship toward Him!
Second, it should cause us to enjoy all that He gives us as coming from His generous hand. 1 Timothy 6:17 says that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
Third, it should lead us to be bold in our praying. In Matthew 7:11, after teaching His disciples about prayer, Jesus reminds them about the overwhelming generosity of our Heavenly Father: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” And in Ephesians 3:20, Paul teaches us to pray remembering just how generous God is when we pray: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
Finally, God’s generosity should lead us to be generous in our giving! In 2 Corinthians, Paul spends two chapters (8 and 9) encouraging the Corinthians to be generous in their giving because they have a generous God. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul lays the foundation for our generosity – the example of Jesus: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” In 2 Corinthians 9, he tells them to “prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.” God’s generosity in giving to us makes us generous in giving to others. In verses 6-15, Paul explains why our giving should be generous. In verse 6, he reminds us of a biblical principle about giving: “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” In verse 7, he says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” We give generously, not because we have to, but because we have experienced the joy of knowing God’s generosity to us! In verses 8-9, he reminds us that we can’t out-give our generous God! “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” Finally, in verses 10-15, Paul reminds us that “this service not only supplies the needs of the saints but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.” In other word, our generosity not only models God’s generosity; it causes many others to glorify God because they realize that people have given generously to them only because of God’s generosity!
What a joy to serve a generous God! He gives us all we need and often more than we need! He is our supply, and His generosity works in us making us generous toward others too! Along with the Apostle Paul, we proclaim: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Opportunities to Serve and Teach … God’s Generosity!
In 2024, I continued to teach and train believers in Ukraine this past year through online classes because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. I taught four classes at Kyiv Theological Seminary (KTS) and assisted with one more. Additionally, I taught one class at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary in Lviv (UBTS) and helped prepare a colleague there to teach the class by himself next year.
In 2025, I will be still teaching some classes online in Ukraine, but most of my time will be spent helping Ukrainian professors teach the classes I have been teaching online since the beginning of the war. This is a very important step that we have been praying about for the last 3 years. We ultimately want to equip Ukrainians to be able to teach all the classes I have been teaching. We are getting close to accomplishing that goal! Additionally, this year, I will also be helping with doctoral students at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary. This will also help to provide professors for Ukraine.
In addition, Katya and I will be continuing to transition to helping more with training and missionary care for missionaries for GlobalServe International (GSI). GSI sends missionaries to restricted-access (or closed) countries so this work will be very different from our work in Ukraine. Pray for us as we continue to make this important transition in 2025. The first week in February, we will be helping GSI at their annual Sender’s Conference being held this year in Fayetteville, AR. GSI holds this conference annually to help train church leaders on how to best serve GSI missionaries on the field. Sending and supporting missionaries in countries closed to missionaries is very different from sending traditional missionaries. So, this conference is very important for churches with GSI missionaries. Pray for this conference and for the church leaders that will be attending.
Most of my teaching time this last month has been at the nursing home ministry. It is such a blessing to see these faithful believers whenever I am able to join them. I was especially blessed to be able to preach during the Christmas season. I am grateful for every opportunity to teach and preach that the Lord graciously provides for me!
A House to Live In … God’s Generosity!
A little over a year ago, we moved into our house. It was not complete, but it was livable. Our apartment lease was up at the end of November, and we didn’t want to sign an agreement for another year. So, we decided to move in. We did not have any cabinets or stove, or oven or dishwasher. All we had was a refrigerator, a microwave and a gas grill. We cooked outside on the second-hand gas grill that Jim picked up for about $50. The septic and plumbing had just been put in a month before, so we could use the bathrooms. The floors were laid the week of Thanksgiving, and the woodstove was installed, and we had been using it for a month just to be warm enough to work inside. There was still a lot to do – but we were in our own home after 2 years of temporary housing!
Here at the end of 2024, we are comfortably settled now in our house. It has taken a lot of work but most of the house is complete. We still have baseboard and trim to finish and doors to paint, but our house is very comfortable. In fact, we built the house with many energy saving features so we could lower our monthly costs. The house has performed better than we expected. Our energy costs are consistently $50/month lower than a conventional house.
As we move into 2025, we are looking forward to getting our garden planted which should also save us a lot of money. This year, we planted about 20 fruit trees, but it will be 3-5 years before we have fruit from them. We also have a lot of outside work to be done, including getting our driveway done. But in all, we are so amazed at all God has provided for us over the last 3 years. When we evacuated from Ukraine, we left with just 4 small suitcases. But we have been abundantly blessed by the generosity of the Lord so much that all we lost in Ukraine has been fully restored – and more! We are so grateful for the generosity of God!
Family Times … God’s Generosity!
There are so many things from this past year that we are thankful for, but none is more important than the time we have with family. After being away from family while serving in Ukraine for over 15 years, it is a real joy to be able to see my children and grandchildren regularly. And this year we were especially blessed to be able to host all of them at our home here in Arkansas. This summer, Joel and Ally and their family stayed with us over July 4th and Joy and Meredith and their families joined us then too. We also had most of them back for Thanksgiving at our house. In October, Katya’s mom came to live with us. For Christmas, only the Coopers were able to join us and we all had a great time together celebrating the birth of Jesus and enjoying being together!
We had a quiet New’s Eve with just our family. We had a traditional Ukranian meal and watched the Russian film, “Carnival Night,” before watching the ball drop (on TV). We even had some time for father-daughter dancing!
Like everyone in Arkansas, we received a wonderful snowfall! Snow is one of the things we miss greatly from Ukraine! Our little neighborhood looked magical all painted in white snow. But we were warm inside sitting by our woodstove. There was also enough snow to build a snowman family and some time to go sled riding too.
As we look back on 2024, we can see so many ways that God has not only provided for our all needs, but how He has provided for us so much more abundantly than we could ever think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Pray for Ukraine …
It goes without saying that Ukraine continues to need your prayers. We are not sure what will happen in the coming days much less the coming months. Ukraine has valiantly defended its territory over the last three years while Russia has continued to fire thousands of missiles into civilian and energy targets. We don’t know what 2025 will bring but we pray that Ukraine will continue to have the strength to resist Russian aggression.
Also, pray for the churches of Ukraine. They have spent the last three years caring for refugees as well as sharing the gospel. We have friends who regularly deliver supplies to civilians behind enemy lines while sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus. We have other friends serving as chaplains and a number of friends ministering to soldiers and their families. Additionally, both seminaries (KTS and UBTS) continue to train and equip students to minister in Ukraine. I’ll never forget what one leader at KTS said when they resumed classes just a few months after the initial invasion: “Knowledge is power and Biblical knowledge is the greatest power.” Please pray that these schools (and others like them) will be able to continue training people to serve the churches and share the gospel.
Thank you for your prayers. We are glad to be back in the US, but our hearts continue to be burdened for Ukraine. But we are also grateful for the generosity of God’s people to the people of Ukraine and to us. We are grateful that we serve a generous God who has many generous followers. We are especially grateful that He has allowed us to be partners with you all in this ministry of the gospel here in Ukraine and we look forward to serving our generous God in 2025!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
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