Pleased to Give

By Pastor Brandon

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

As a father of three beautiful children, my favorite holiday is Christmas. The reason I look forward to it is because I get to see the expression on my children’s face when they open the gifts that we have given them. As a father, Christmas to me is all about giving to those who you love so much! Last Christmas we were able to get the perfect gift. You know the gift… that gift that makes or breaks their Christmas. If they get that one special gift there will be a spontaneous explosion. When they opened the package, all they do is scream. You know the gift that is worth it just by watching their reaction.

Can you imagine what God was filled with when he gave the world that gift the very first Christmas? God our Father, who because his very nature is to give, sent his only Son as a gift to us. He sent the gift when there was no hope on our own. We were desperate and helpless.

In Luke 12:32, Jesus talks about the nature of God. In this verse he reveals what kind of heart God has and what makes God glad—not merely about what God will do or what he has to do, but what he delights to do, what he loves to do and takes pleasure in doing.

Luke 12:32 says, "It is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." In other words, God is not acting in this generous way in order to hide some malicious motive. He is not saying, "I will have to be generous for a while even though I don't want to be, because what I really want to do is bring judgment on sinners."
When he gives his flock the kingdom, he is acting out his deepest delight. This is what the word means: God's joy, his desire, his want and wish and hope and pleasure and gladness and delight is to give the kingdom to his flock.
To know that we have a Heavenly Father who in his nature is to give and when he gives it pleases him should make us take comfort in him. My children don’t worry about what they are going to eat, they don’t fear if they will be able to sleep in a bed. Their father has given them all that they need.
Jesus knows that the flock of God struggles with fear. The Lord wants to free us from this fear by telling us the truth about God. He has chosen every word for our comfort and joy and peace.
Read Luke 12:22-34.