The
Public Lives of Successful Christians
Pursuing
the good.
(7)
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it
will be opened to you. (8) For everyone who asks receives, and the one who
seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (9) Or which one of
you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks
for a fish, will give him a serpent? (11) If you then, who are evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in
heaven give good things to those who ask him! (12) "So whatever you wish
that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the
Prophets. [Mat 7:7-12 ESV]
Ask, Seek, Knock.
If
verse seven is taken by itself, it would seem to give God a “vending machine”
feature. However, if we look deeper, we see that there is an increase in the
intensity of the pursuit of that which is good. The passage starts with
instruction to “ask”. Certainly this is a worthwhile instruction. As simple as
it may seem, sometimes we do without simply because we fail to ask.[1]
The
next instruction is to “seek”. Seeking carries a more intense sense than to
simply “ask”. “Knocking” denotes even more persistence on the part of the one
who is making petition.
•
Why does Jesus give us this word picture?
•
How do you think a believer’s spiritual maturity
affects the way that God responds to them?
The
Parental Example.
Jesus uses
the example of a caring parent to illustrate our relationship to God. Our
petition to is made on the basis of a
child to a loving Father. The point is
this:
•
If fallible, flawed people instinctively care
for their children, how much more will a Holy God care for his?
The
Qualifying Request-Good Things.
Jesus
tells us that if we ask, seek and knock we will receive the “good things” God
has for us.
It is
quite possible for us to want something good that God has for us, but not be
enthusiastic about the process to receive that good thing.
For
example, here are good things a parent should give a child.
•
work ethic
•
morality
•
integrity
•
spirituality
The
child will someday appreciate these thing, but will often not be enthused about
the process to receive them. Similarly, we often do not appreciate God's
methods even though we trust his motives. The Lord never leads his children
into paths that are destructive. He leads us in ways that are both instructive
and constructive.
The
link to the “Golden Rule”.
It has
been said that whenever you see a “therefore”[2] in
scripture you need to see what it is “there for”. In this case, it is drawing a
link between good things we receive from God, and our treatment of others. It
is fair to say that (most?) often the good things of God come through the hands
or hearts of other people.
An
example or persistence – Bartimaeus[3]
"As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man
was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired
what this meant. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And those
who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all
the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and
commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
"What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me
recover my sight." And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your
faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and
followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise
to God." (Luke 18:35-43 ESV)
Questions
•
For what does God really wants me to ask, seek,
and knock? What is the good
thing that I am to pursue?[4]
•
How have I seen the
progressive revelation of God's will in my life?
•
How do cynicism and impatience get me into trouble regarding
God's will for my life?
•
My most important pursuit is______________________.
•
Why does God want me to pursue the good things he wants to give
to me anyway?
