“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? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:7-12 NIV
Jesus says that His Father knows how to give good gifts to us, and uses an illustration from parenting to drive the idea home. It is a good example for most of us, as most of us had parents who gave us good gifts as we were growing up. But Jesus points out that our Heavenly Father gives even better gifts to us than any earthly parent ever did.
However, if we look closely at this section of scripture, Matthew 7:7-12, the focus of this teaching is on relationship. Jesus wants us to cultivate a relationship with God by asking, by seeking, by being in continual conversation with Him. If we do this, then the blessings we receive, the good gifts from our Heavenly Father, will naturally flow from us to those around us.
Paul praises God for comforting us in our difficulties.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows,” II Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV.
Did you see it? When we have been comforted in a particular trial, grief or difficulty, we are not to just keep that comfort for ourselves, we are to share it with others with whom we come in contact who have similar situations. Paul David Tripp said it this way, “We are not to be a container of comfort, but a conduit of comfort”.
This scripture in Philippians shines a light on this idea as well.
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others, Philippians 2:1-4 NIV
The good gifts we receive from the hand of the Father, whether they be spiritual insight, money, talents, abilities, or encouragement, are meant to be shared with those around us. It could be that we are the blessing that is needed in someone else’s life. Perhaps someone else is seeking, knocking, asking God for something and you are the answer to that person’s need.
It is true, none of us have always received everything we might want or ask for from an earthly father or from our heavenly Father. It could be that what we are asking for would not actually be good for us to have. But we can be assured that the gifts our Heavenly Father does give us are good. And any blessing we get from Him is to be shared, not just kept for ourselves. Is there someone who could use encouragement from you this week? Is there a comfort or blessing you could give to someone? Ask God to show you how you can share your gifts with others this week.
by Grace Hunter
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