Giver of Good Gifts

UV 500/10,000 Giver of good things Mathew 7 v 11 Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Scripture says that our imagination is evil from the days of our youth. We take turns to be at times foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts of the flesh and mind, living in malice, hateful and hating one another. Yet, we are compassionate and generous to our own children. We might come from any nation, religious background or financial status but we are all committed to seeking and securing the best for our children. In this aspect, we bear some resemblance with the Father and we are consistent to that extent with the image in which we are created. In other words, we are interested in the well being of our children. This uni-verse is spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself who alone knew the Father’ s heart fully. While Moses the greatest of the OT characters was only a servant of God through whom the commandments were given, Jesus is the Son of God through whom the full revelation is given. He has such complete knowledge of the Father that He alone can reveal to us. Indeed, it is revelation and not revolution that will change us individually and collectively from our inherent evil. Our Father which is in heaven did not spare His most precious Son for the sake of mankind or all of us individually. How much more would He be willing to give us what we need for our well being ? We as parents are limited in our ability to give our children on account of the limitations on our knowledge, understanding, wisdom, sense of security, trust as well as in our resources. We sometimes get tired of giving our children. We stop giving them the moment they come of age and are able to fend for themselves. We are only able to give our children physical or monetary gifts but our Heavenly Father gives unique gifts to each one of us, gifts of the spirit, mind and body. We sometimes give our children things that they should not have been given, that could unwittingly bring about their destruction. Imagine the tragic case of a father who dotes on his son and on the latter’s request gets him a racing bike. The son then meets his end in a road mishap. In contrast, our heavenly Father is not limited by any or all of these limiting factors. As children we are used to limiting what we ask of our parents to our understanding of their ability to give. But, there is no limit to what we can ask of the Father. But, it is said that the Father will satisfy our need but not our greed. Another factor is that we need to ask. We need to ask in the name of Jesus as He is the One who purchased for us the right to be called children with the price of his life and blood. We need to ask with an attitude of expectation that the Father will answer. We can ask with boldness and confidence. We also need to ask with an attitude of patience that He will answer in due time, in good time or God’s time. We need to ask with an attitude of submission to His sovereign will that He knows what is best for us and He could answer “ yes” , “ no” or “ wait”. We need to ask on the basis of a promise contained in the Word. Finally, we need to ask with an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude both for what He has given us in the past and in the present moment and for what He is going to give us in the future. We need to be assured that He will withhold no good thing from them who love Him, the Giver and not the gifts and seek Him and not His benefits. Prateep V Philip