When Chloe and I were first married, we were living in Grand Rapids and having a hard time finding work. We moved there so that I could start seminary, and while school had started, the money from our wedding was running out, we couldn’t find work, and we didn’t know how we were going to pay rent on our new apartment.

We made it three months.

I felt ashamed. Here I was, a new husband in a new city, with the desire to love and care for my new wife, and I couldn’t even find a job. It wasn’t that I was lazy; I would take work if it were there, but I couldn’t find it. I was frustrated, humiliated, and desperate. So…

I called my dad.

I acted like I was just calling to say hi, not knowing how to broach the subject, but he could tell something was up. He said to me, “Jimmy, what’s going on?” I told him that it had been hard to find work and that we were running low on money.

My dad said to me, “Jimmy, what do you need? It doesn’t matter, whatever it is, I’ll give it to you. It’s okay.” We were $300 short for rent. My parents sent me $600. A week or two later, Chloe found a great job at a coffee bar, and I pieced together random jobs over the next few months (you know, teaching gymnastics to toddlers, delivering subs, etc.) and it all worked out.

I just recently recalled that story to some friends, and I got choked up. I didn’t realize it in the thick of the moment, but my dad gave me a perspective on money in that moment that has stuck with me. My dad was generous, and I want to be like my dad.

At church, you should notice that rather than simply passing the baskets, we are going to make an intentional effort to talk about money, generosity, and financial stewardship at our offering time. Because here’s the thing: we want to be like our Father in heaven, and he is remarkably generous. Our goal here is to have a vision for our individual finances that matches not the ways of the world, but the ways of the kingdom of God. A vision of a generous Father of children who give like they know who their Father is.