What if God asked . . . ?

 

2 Chronicles 1; Micah 7; Luke 16; 1 John 1

We used to joke that if the Sunday school teacher asked a question that caught someone off guard, it was usually safe to answer, “Jesus.” I’m beginning to realize that this is not a joke!

When Solomon became king, God appeared to him and said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Imagine this question presented to me. What would I ask? Solomon wanted to do well in his new role. He knew his weaknesses and was not interested in self-glory but whatever would be the best way to do his job. Certainly leading a nation was daunting, especially to a young man who was expected to walk in the footsteps of his enormously popular father.

Micah had a challenging task too, that of denouncing the wealthy who mistreated the poor and proclaiming the coming judgment of God. He felt as if “The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind” and that “Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well” and that the “most upright of them is like a thorn hedge.”

This prophet, like most of the others, could see the darkness in human hearts. As if that was not troubling enough, these men were called by God to warn the people, urging them to repent. Along with that negative view, God also gave His prophets glimpses of the future when . . .

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19)

This is a black and white perspective of life. What would a prophet ask for if God gave him the same option as Solomon? How would he see his needs considering his role?

Jesus had the toughest assignment of all. He came to a religious climate where the Law of God was used as a club, where the things that were “exalted among men” were “an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15) Everything He said or did was misunderstood, ridiculed, or ignored. The Scriptures say He prayed often. The Father certainly offered Him all that He needed to fulfill His task of Messiah, yet what did Jesus ask for? What did He, who, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6–7) feel a need for in order to save the world from sin? He functioned here as fully man, with all our characteristics except sin. How would He answer, “What shall I give you?” as a question from His Father?

Our human hearts have this empty space. If honest and aware, many people, if asked that question, would want that space filled, a desire that requires faith even in the answering. No one would respond to such a question unless they trusted the Lord to put something good into the emptiness of their lives.

Even though the Lord God gave me Jesus to fill that space, there are times when I feel needy. If I’m honest and aware, that need is not that God has abandoned me, but that I have become preoccupied with other things, some of which could be called idols. Today’s devotional reading is a straightforward response to the universal need of the human heart. The author writes:

The eternal Word became a man (John 1:14); here the “life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” So John reiterates, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard.” (1 John 1:2-3)

Jesus is our wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is also our balance, knowing when to be tough in judgment and when to be tender with mercy. He is our humanness because He knows how to live in a hostile and unbelieving world. He is the one thing that is most needed every single time that God asks, “What shall I give you?”

APPLY: I’ve been trying to be organized with my responsibilities, relationships, prayer time, and a host of other things to the point that I could not affirm a positive answer to the question, “Does Jesus Christ control all areas of my life?” I’ve tried to make that true but must admit that my to-do list can be more of a boss than the Spirit of God. Instead of getting things done, I wind up spinning my wheels unless I am filled with the Spirit and letting Him govern me by His sometimes scary “do the next thing” way of giving direction. He knows what is important. If I trust Him, all that will be taken care of and the rest will not matter. So, today in answer to His question, “What shall I give you?” I am saying, “Jesus in the fullness of the Holy Spirit along with the ability to hear Him direct my steps, one at a time, so that the will of our Father is done.”