Scripture/Bible: "Ask, and it will be
given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For every one who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man 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
men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. Matt 7:7-12
Reflection: “Ask”,
“Seek”, “knock”, and it all seems like an open invitation from the Lord. In
real life this never seems to be a reality.
In
fact in real life what Jesus says, if taken in isolation, is not a fact; for not everyone who asks receives, neither everyone who
seeks finds, nor him who knocks it is opened.
When
a statement does not stand the test of truth, one shouldn’t immediately jump to
judgments, more so with God’s word. Maybe the statement was quoted in isolation
and out of context. The then the next best thing to do is to test it in its
proper context and see if it means something else or if need be then read the
subsequent statements and see how it qualifies the statement.
Here
we need not go far, but the subsequent statement of Jesus seems to qualify what
he has to say: “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!”
It
can now be safely assumed that God gives to everyone who asks, seeks and knocks
in order to have the good things. Not
the good things according to how we see but good according to what God thinks
to be good for us.
In
a similar passage in Luke we learn that one of the best thing to ask and which
is good for us and our salvation is to ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Lk.
11:13)
Prayer: Lord
as I knock at your door, after seeking in various pastures, I ask of you to
give me your Holy Spirit, that I may never thirst again.
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