Matthew 7:7-12 Ask, Seek, Knock (Luke 11:5-13)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.”
Asking-you can’t receive anything if you haven’t already asked. Assuming people are mind readers and can discern your needs without your making them known is patently ridiculous. Even though God knows our hearts, we still need to tell Him our needs and our problems; that way, when God answers our prayers, our faith will increase and multiply.
Seeking-years ago, a friend had a poster that expressed the sentiment “If you don’t know where you are going, you’re likely to wind up somewhere else.” If we truly want the Kingdom of God to come in our lives, we must be seekers. We must pray and study God’s Word, hiding it in our hearts. If we want God’s perfect will for our lives, we must ask God for guidance. My husband served nearly four years in the U.S. Navy. When a ship is moving, it is said to be “under way.” When a ship stops, it has lost “way,” or momentum; it’s dead in the water and cannot be steered. In the same fashion, we need to keep moving toward God. As long as we are in motion, God can guide us. But if we sit down, demanding that God move us when we are stationary, we are keeping God from working in our lives.
Knocking-old-time door to door salesmen knew that if they knocked and the home owner opened the door, they had the opportunity to make a sale. The more doors these people knocked on, the more sales they made and the more income they had to support themselves and their families. Many salesmen testified that the hardest part was knocking on that door, for once they had knocked, they had committed themselves and then had to follow through. In the same way, if we want things from God, we must persist in our requests, trusting that if we are not asking for the right things, God will change our hearts and help us to make requests that honor Him.
For those on that hillside, Jesus’ stories need no explanation. But we, on the other hand, might wonder at their meaning. How can any parent mistake a stone for bread or a snake for a fish? The key is light, or the lack of it. Homes in Jesus’ day are lit by small lamps burning olive oil, and the amount of light they give is limited. Bread is baked in round loaves, so it is possible for someone to accidentally pick up a stone rather than a loaf of bread. In the same way, snakes might enter a house and even crawl up into dishes on the table. If there is a dish with some fish, a snake might curl up in that same dish, allowing the potential for a mistake to be made.
Caring parents will make sure to give their children bread and fish, not stones and snakes. Jesus’ point is simple: If we as sinful people care so much for our children that we give them only good things, how much more does our perfect Heavenly Father want to give us good things?
“In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.” Repeatedly, throughout the Mosaic Law, God warns His people to care for others as they would like to be cared for, to remember strangers because they too were strangers in Egypt for 400 years and to care for the poor, for widows, and for orphans. Later, a religious leader will ask Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus will answer “You will love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
In the same way that God gives good gifts to His children, we also are to care for one another. We should be as passionate about helping others as we are about begging for help for ourselves. In an earlier age, missionaries sometimes were the recipients of ridiculous things such as used tea bags or rags in place of useable clothing. Long-awaited missionary barrels were opened, only to prove to be bitter disappointments. At times, our hospital has received “donations” that have included discarded pumps for orthopedic foam, spoiled surgical instruments, hospital beds in pieces, and other junk. It’s mind-boggling to realize that people have paid good money to ship this rubbish while giving themselves credit for their generosity. Talk about fish and stones! Such donations amply demonstrate a superior attitude on the part of the donor toward the intended recipients, the inverse of Jesus’ teachings.
One of the fundamental laws of the Kingdom of God is that the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. Computer programmers have a saying “GIGO,” meaning “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” When we act in love, we might make mistakes, but God can correct our mistakes and turn situations around. When we act out of any other motive, the results will be disastrous.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to keep asking, seeking, and knocking so that Your Kingdom will fully come and Your perfect will will be accomplished in our lives. Help us to care for others as we wish to be cared for. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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