Monday, March 22, 2010

From a Father’s Hand

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for 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

Though God may not always give us exactly what we want when we pray, is it still possible that He will give us what we neither want nor need? Some people believe in a deity that is so fickle, so mischievous and malevolent that he delights to give us the opposite of what we ask for. Such a god might give us an unnourishing stone when we ask for bread, or a dangerous snake when we ask for fish. Before we reject such notions as fanciful, we should know that the Greek pantheon contained many gods whose behavior was often adolescent or downright vindictive. But the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not like that. He loves us, far more than any human parent ever could, and He longs to give us the gifts that He has prepared for us.

Notice that Jesus assumes that human beings are depraved. He says that we are evil, that is, that we have a tendency, in this fallen world, to choose that which is not of God. And yet, even human parents, who share this tendency, want to give good gifts to their children. Very few parents would give hungry children stones, or endanger them with snakes. Neither would God. We can rest assured, when we approach Him with our burdens and the needs that concern us so much, that God’s response will be that of a Father who loves us.

Verse twelve summarizes Jesus’ teaching. We know it as the “Golden Rule.” If we want to be treated fairly and with compassion by others, and especially by God, then we should treat others in the same way. It is interesting that Jesus should express this Rule in a positive way. Before, it had always been a negative: “Do not do to others what you do not wish them to do to you.” But Jesus turns a prohibition into a manifesto. Share God’s bounty and grace with all – just as you have received God’s bounty and grace in your life.

Lord,
Some people find it hard to think of You as ‘Father.”
Their memories are too painful.
They have no model by which they may understand.
Nevertheless, I am glad to be able to call You “Father,”
not because You mirror fatherhood,
but because every good father mirrors You.
Amen.