I pride myself on giving good gifts. For me, the secret to giving good gifts is thoughtfulness, usefulness, and an element of surprise. When I need to give a gift, I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning it. I have even been known to give gifts early because I am so excited to present them to their recipients. Maybe you can relate. If we, mere human beings with a sin nature, give good gifts, how much more does God give good gifts to His people?
As Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 7, He reminded His listeners that God gives good gifts to His people. "You parents," He said, "If your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?" (verse 9). The implied answer to this question is, "No, of course not." No parent would give their child a stone to eat instead of bread. Now, we learned in the weekend message that the bread eaten in Jesus' day looked like rocks. No parent, Jesus taught, would trick their child and give them a rock to eat instead of the bread they asked for. Jesus continued teaching, "Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake?" (verse 10). Jesus answered His own question this time saying, "Of course not!" (verse 10). Of course, no parent would give their child a harmful and potentially poisonous snake. After asking those two questions, Jesus drove home His point. He said, "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him" (verse 11). It is true, we human beings are sinful. We mess up frequently. We often need to apologize and turn away from our sins. But we do know how to give good gifts. If we know how to give good gifts, imagine how much more our perfect, Heavenly Father, who loves us, knows how to give good gifts.
Your Heavenly Father knows how to give good gifts. Even more, He knows how to give you good gifts. The question is, do we trust Him to give good gifts? Do we recognize the good gifts He gives us when He gives them, or do we take His good gifts for granted? Let's be people who see the good gifts God gives every day and always thank Him for them when we pray.
The only proper response to receiving a gift is to say, “Thank you.” For the next few minutes, reflect on this past week. What is one gift God has given you this week? Thank God for the gift He has given you this week. Thank Him for being your perfect Heavenly Father who gives good gifts to His people.
9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
The Golden Rule
12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.
