Several years ago, I met a man who changed my life. The first time I sat down with him for breakfast, he offered to send me to Israel. I didn’t know him. He didn’t know me. For some strange reason that I still don’t fully understand, he saw fit to give me a gift I had not earned nor deserved. 

Sometime later, when he heard that an unexpected heart procedure and unplanned home repairs crippled our family with debt, he paid it off. I still remember walking to the mailbox, pulling out the unfamiliar envelope, and opening it up to find a check that took my breath away. I sat on the porch holding the check while weeping. My wife, Melissa, finally came outside only to find me undone.  

When I called him, I said through tears, “You don’t even know me.” He said, “I don’t have to know you. I love you.” You can’t see me now, but even as I write this, my eyes well up with tears. 

It didn’t stop there. His generosity has continued. Each year he has sent my wife and I away on vacation, just the two of us. It’s been life giving for us as a couple. When we return from a trip he asks, “Where to next?” All of this is completely undeserved. A man who didn’t know me from Adam has treated me like a favored son. 

What is truly beautiful about this story is that one man’s lavish generosity has reminded me of God’s lavish grace. You may read this and think to yourself, “I wish that were me!” I have good news for you. It is you. God lavishly pours out this kind of love every day. He’s doing it right now. We only need to see it. 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us…