Matthew 7:9-11
“Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
At some point in our lives we get suspicious when we receive gifts. We are curious about motives. This is certainly true when we think about God. I’m not saying we should be suspicious, but many do. I was.
When I became a christian, my mind would instantly gravitate toward the most difficult things. That is tasks that I thought God wanted me to do. A missionary was one of them. Going to the convalescent home to visit with old folks was another. If I had free time I thought I should be serving.
I didn’t trust God. I didn’t understand about His love and grace. Jesus is illustrating God’s love by comparing Him to human parents. We know how to give good gifts. If we do then God does.
Jesus also makes the point that us being evil can give good gifts. That is a point that many don’t know. Most think they are good. We are judging on a curve. That’s not how God judges. He compares us to Himself and the Law. We’ve all lied, misled, put ourselves first, stolen and so on. Unfortunately we’ve been born with a sin nature which slants towards sin. It gets worse. It’s corrupt and feeds in that direction.
I’ve heard people in conversation with those who are sharing the gospel. Many feel like they have a good chance of going to heaven. They see themselves as basically good. Not true. Jesus says we are evil. That doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us. He does and He does so greatly.
He wants to be in and a part of our lives. He wants to give us good gifts. He does in some sense. In creation He made this wonderful world which allows us to provide a great life. In creating us, there is so much good that we can partake of. From music to art to food and recreation, there is so much to enjoy. He has given that to all of us. That is a general goodness that we all partake of.
Because we are evil we are separated from God. So, if we were to die, we wouldn’t go to heaven. We have to receive His sacrifice on the cross and repent of our sins and follow Him. When we do that He gives us a new heart and a new nature. We are reconciled to Him and He makes us His children. This is a game changer.
Now that we are adopted by Him we get riches in Christ (Romans 8:17, 9:23). This means many things. The biggest is He makes us like Him in character. He also blesses our lives. We shall not want. We are so blessed by what we have. God gives good gifts.
Another part of being in Christ means we are His ambassadors. This means we are His representatives who share His good news. We tell others about Him. That He loves them and wants to forgive them and bless their lives. That He is a good Father who seeks to give them good things.
Another benefit is that He wants to make us like Himself. He wants us to be good and to give good things. He guides us and puts situations in our lives that He uses to make us more like Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” That’s amazing. God is so good and He makes us better so we can be a blessing to others.
Thank You, Lord. You’ve so blessed us. Help us to be a blessing to others.