The other is for a young couple who are getting married. I’ve never met the bride-to-be, so this one is more difficult. It helps that they have put their desires on a couple of gift registries. I used to think that was a bit crass, but when I don’t know what to buy, this gives me a wide range of items and prices to choose from. I can’t go wrong.
The verse I’ve been reading is about giving. Jesus says that people with sinful hearts and polluted by selfishness still know how to give good gifts to our children. We are made in the image of God and perhaps this is one area where that image peeks through that ugly smear of sin that all too often hides it.
If you then, being 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! (Matthew 7:11)Jesus tells me that if I can pick gifts that suit people, how much more will God give good things to those looking for a gift. He isn’t marred by sin and selfishness like I am. His motives are pure, not like mine. I’ve given gifts to impress the giver with my thoughtfulness, or with the money that I spent on them. How crass is that! God isn’t into giving to build His own ego. He is perfect and has no need for that.
It is God’s nature to be generous and benevolent. However, there is more to this verse than first glance. In a parallel passage, the idea of “good things” is given a specific definition:
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:13)Humanly speaking, gift-giving is usually about something pleasing, an item offered to another. It is free and suited to the other person’s desires. Divinely speaking, this gift-giving is about a person, not a package. He is freely offered, but not at all like a set of towels or a coffee maker. He is more like a live-in roommate. He moves in with far more than the ability to make my life easier or please me as a possession does. Instead, the Holy Spirit actually rearranges my life and my space.
When He first arrived, He began opening windows, casting light in dark corners, moving priorities, and sweeping out sin. He also gave me new emotions and motivations, like love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control. He is not pushy, at least most of the time, but He is relentless.
Some of His activities are not as pleasant as others. For instance, He convicts me of sin and won’t leave me alone until I repent. He tells me what to do when I have other plans. He bugs me about sin and righteousness. He is a wonderful gift, yet I’m not always as receptive to Him as I should be. Sometimes I shove Him off in a corner so I can do what sin prompts me to do. That is silly, but it happens.
Thankfully, God also helps me see that the things that do not feel good about His gift, such as conviction of sin, are good for me in the long run. This might be a lousy example, but He is like getting a dishwasher when I really wanted a sewing machine. It takes a bit of time and some humility to recognize that having Him in my life frees me up. Instead of being stuck at the sink, I can make lovely things in the sewing room. Instead of being stuck in my sinful selfishness, I can have a fruitful life.
God’s gift of the Holy Spirit comes with the asking. Each time I find myself trapped with less than good things, I can ask God to gift me. He wants good things for me, and the Holy Spirit is at the top of the list.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32)How often do I need to be told that I’ve no excuse for spiritual poverty? I simply need to ask.
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