A Life in Exile

Read Matthew 7:7-12 and Luke 11:5-13.

He told us to ask, seek and knock. If we do, we’ll be given what we ask, find what we seek, and have doors opened. The one who answers, gives and opens is God.

Jesus makes it clear on the mountain that if a father on this earth gives good gifts to his children, how much more will our Heavenly Father bless us.

It would be nice if he was just sharing with us the goodness of God, but I think there’s more to it than that. Just before this, Jesus is talking about our tendency to judge others. We need to look at our own faults first. Then just after this, he talks about entering through the narrow gate. Maybe that’s why he ends the teaching on giving good gifts with this:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Am I not doing to others what I want them to do to me? How have I treated others today?

The passage in Luke brings even more emphasis to this point, by grouping the teaching with the story of the bothersome friend, who is looking for bread at midnight. You remember the story. The one inside doesn’t want to help and gives the excuse of a sleeping household and locked door.

Unfortunately for the one who’s trying to sleep, the friend keeps knocking. In the end, the other gives his friend the bread just to get rid of him.

Jesus asks: “What kind of giver are you?”

Am I like my Heavenly Father, who gives generously whatever I may ask?

Or, do I give reluctantly and only when I’m forced?

I check my giving chart once again. Where do I fall on the scale between generous and reluctant givers? What can I do about it?

What about you? Are you heading toward that narrow gate? It requires a generous heart. Has anyone knocked on your door lately?