When you hear the word generosity, what comes to mind? Do you picture a wealthy person giving to the poor? Did you think about a grandparent or an aunt who lavished you with gifts?

Generosity is a grace of the Christian life, something that we do out of a desire for godliness. It should be a disciplined, habitual part of our walk with the Lord. Generosity is about more than just money. It goes beyond material things. Radical generosity offers to others those things with the greatest value—our emotions, our energy, our time, our homes, our vocations and giftings—our very lives. As Timothy Keller has said, “Radical generosity is a life of giving, not taking.”

It is easy to give money. It is hard to give one’s privacy, to share one’s home. It is costly to cry with the hurting, to spend long hours with the dying. It is not easy to put one’s arms around the sick, or the filthy. Yet, that is radical generosity.

Jesus gave His reputation for the sake of others. When the Pharisees said of Him, “This man receives sinners and eats with them,” it was not meant as a compliment (Luke 15:2).

Radical generosity was the practice of Jesus. He did these very things. He touched the lepers, and those who were considered unclean. He spent three years of His life investing in a small group of people. Just think about what it would be like to put up with impetuous Peter, “doubting” Thomas, thieving Judas, radical Simon, and James and John, the “Sons of Thunder.” 

Jesus gave His reputation for the sake of others. When the Pharisees said of Him, “This man receives sinners and eats with them,” it was not meant as a compliment (Luke 15:2). He invited Matthew, the tax collector to join His team. He lodged with Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector. He sipped water drawn from a well by an immoral woman.

It is hard to be radically generous. It is easier just to write a check. Jesus, though, did much more. Consider the words of Mark 10:45. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Radical generosity is a life of giving, not taking.