How Much More

“Which of you, if his son [or grandson] 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 7:9–12, NIV 1984).

My Musings – What this passage says is that we won’t get “stones” or “snakes.” What this passage doesn’t say is that we will get “bread” or “fish.” We might. But we might not. We often think that the bread, the fish or whatever are the things that we must have. But our “Father in Heaven” is focused on “how much more” He can give in “good gifts.”

My Advice – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (Jeremiah 29:11–12, NIV 1984). In context, this was a promise to Judah. But it is not a stretch at all for us to assume that it is applies to all His children. The Scriptures in their entirety (the “Law and the Prophets,” the Gospel and the Epistles) attest (“sums up“) to this.

So, we must not disparage the Lord when the bread and fish we asked for do not come (or do not come immediately after asking). We’re selling Him cheap when we do. He knows what He has planned for us, and it is “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV 1984).

But let’s not stop there, with an inward focus only. Let’s do the same for others, even those who are not His children.