Luke 11:13
"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!"
How much more indeed!
I love to buy things for my wife and kids, especially things they ask for. It gives me great joy to know I've not only met their needs, but I've exceeded them to the point of joy. Jesus says it is this same way also with God. He loves for us to ask, and he loves to give.
Whenever we read this passage in Luke, along with preceding verses, we're drawn to the "asking, seeking, knocking" text that seems to say That God will give us whatever we ask for if we're persistent enough in our prayers. I'd surely like that and have already got my list ready whenever God wants it. Most of us do, and our prayers reflect our selfish desires.
However, Jesus clarifies his teaching in this verse by linking good gifts to the Spirit's touch. In terms of asking, God gives the good gift of the Spirit to those who ask. Of course, we're puzzled by this, with passages clearly teaching every believer is already sealed by the Spirit. Why do we need to ask again? What gives?
The answer lies in the filling of the Spirit. Every believer has experienced the up and down emotions of sometimes feeling close to God and other times far apart. At times, we're filled full with the Spirit's presence, and other times, it seems we've sprung a leak and God is nowhere to be found. It is at these times of emptiness that we need to ask the Spirit to fill us. The promise is clear. God wants to give you the good gift of the Spirit and all we have to do is ask!
Don't let this concept bother you in anyway. God is pleased when we get up every day and cry out for a filling of the Spirit. Not only is this not a second filling of the Spirit as some teach, but it is a daily thing. And it gives God pleasure to seek after his touch.
LORD JESUS
May your Spirit fill my heart full so that I bask daily in your presence in my life and in your church. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment