Greetings from the past, present, and future center of dynamic and prodigal ministry!
If you are familiar with the parables taught by Jesus, you are most likely familiar with the word "prodigal".(see Luke 15:11-32) While the word prodigal is actually never used in scripture, it is often used as a title for the parable often referred to as "The Prodigal Son" about a father and his two sons . In the story the younger son asks his father for an early lump sum payment of what would be his inheritance so he could leave and live independently of his family and the older son remained home and faithful to his responsibilities. Of course, the son who left fell into a spiral of selfishness and excessive living soon to find himself with nothing and nobody (so he thought).
Within this story are many twists and turns that would be shocking to the original reader. All of these surprises are driven by the actions of the father that could easily be characterized as lavish or even excessive. This is the actual definition of prodigal. Lavish or excessive. The father in this story models for us Prodigal Generosity. Sometimes he is so generous it makes you wonder if he is going too far with his generosity. He is prodigally generous with trust as he entrusted the younger son early with his portion of the inheritance. He is prodigal with his love as he is clearly waiting for his son's return regardless of what his son has done. He is prodigal with forgiveness as his son is restored into right relationship with the family despite cutting all ties. He is prodigal with wisdom as he is able to see the value of relationship and love over that of financial wealth. He is prodigal in his joy as he celebrates his son's return.
The purpose of this parable seems to be to teach us to model our lives and our generosity after the father and recognize the parts of ourselves that more closely mirror the two sons.
As a church, we at First Church have collectively been incredibly and prodigally generous with the resources God has entrusted us with. There are many ministries that are able to thrive because of our generosity. The only way for a church to be exceedingly generous and faithful in the mission of Christ is for each of us individually to be prodigally generous as well.
As we focus on generosity and particularly financial generosity over the next month, it is important that we remember our generosity is not measured by our financial giving. Generosity is a characteristic God desires to develop within us that drives how we view and use the resources God has given us. Prodigal generosity in all areas of our life will open us up most to the joy God desires for us.
Grace and Peace,