As I was writing this devotional, my daughter celebrated a birthday. I selected the perfect gift and wrapped it—a rock from our backyard. No. Of course not. What kind of father would do that? Instead, I gave her something called a Squishmallow, a gift I knew she would love.
As Jesus pointed out, if human fathers know how to love their children, how much more does our heavenly Father love us! Our confidence to ask, seek, and knock (as we learned yesterday) is ultimately rooted in the goodness and love of our Father God (vv. 9–11). If our child asked us for bread, we would not give them a stone. Why not? Because we love them and want the best for them. Once again, Jesus was arguing from the smaller to the greater: If we, sinners though we are, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will God do the same! So why are we afraid to trust Him?
This is a humbling analogy for us. We know how to give good gifts to our children even though we’re evil (v. 11). Ouch. And that’s a best-case scenario. We all know that some parents do treat their children in truly evil ways. God never does so.
Jesus concluded: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (v. 12). This is sometimes called the Golden Rule. If applied, it would definitely slow down our tendency to judge (v. 1)! It’s not just an ethical idea that sounds fair. As we see here, in context, it’s based on the goodness of God: Since God does good things for us, we should do good things for others.
Go Deeper
Why does Jesus tell us that we can fully depend on God? In what ways can we better trust the Lord to be the good and loving Father He is?
Pray with Us
Righteous Father, we look to You in humble gratitude for all that You have given us. Lead us to love others as You love us.
Do to others what you would have them do to you.Matthew 7:12
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