Matthew 7:7-14

Ask, Seek, Knock
Keep asking! Jesus is telling us to be persistent in our prayers and active in our faith. Be diligent and keep asking God things. This (to me) means not only bringing your petitions before God but also to bring your challenging questions to Him. I look at the life and writings of King David..... he wasn't afraid of bringing the big questions before Almighty God. He wasn't afraid to argue with God or tell God exactly what was on his mind. The Psalms are filled with David pouring out his heart and soul to God with all kinds of questions, problems, and fears. God is not afraid of our questions. He welcomes them. He wants us to think critically about our relationship with Him. This will deepen our relationship over time as God answers your questions so KEEP ASKING!!

Keep seeking! Proverbs 3:6 says "Seek His will in all that you do." This doesn't say to seek His will whenever you get a chance. It doesn't say to get your chores done and then seek His will. It doesn't say seek His will when you get home from work. It says to seek His will in ALL that you do. Here in Matthew 7 Jesus is reiterating this so KEEP SEEKING!!

Keep knocking! Jesus says that the door will be opened to you if you keep knocking. Have you ever had an appointment at someone's home only to arrive there and have no one answer the door when you knocked on it or rang the bell? What did you feel like? Maybe it was a date and you were stood up. Maybe it was an important business meeting that you would now have to reschedule. If you are like me you probably felt spurned. You might even have gotten angry. Jesus tells us not to worry for if we knock on His door He will always open it for you. You will never be stood up or forgotten about when you go to Jesus' house. KEEP KNOCKING!

Jesus finishes this section with an illustration on parenting. As I parent I know that I will give my son anything he asks for (within reason) as long as it is good for him. If what he asks for is along the lines of what I have in store for his future well being I will give it even more gladly. Jesus acknowledges our good gift giving to our children but then says that the gifts from our Heavenly Father will far outweigh anything we could possibly give to our children. Some of us may have been disappointed or hurt by our earthly fathers. Some of us may have had challenging or even abusive relationships and some of us may have had good yet unemotional relationships with our earthly fathers. No matter what our relationship with our earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father will greatly exceed any and all expectations with His love, mercy, and generosity for those that call upon Him.

The Golden Rule
Jesus makes a bold statement in the next section. In verse 12 He says the whole OT can be summed up in one sentence. As far back as the 16th century (I think) this one statement became known as "The Golden Rule". Do to others as you would have them do to you. This is the essence of the whole OT! The Law and the Prophets was pretty much the whole OT as we know it today including the Psalms and Proverbs. That is a pretty big chunk of material to be summed up in one sentence yet this is exactly what Jesus does. I can imagine the shocked faces of those in His original audience. It's really quite simple; if you want to be loved, love; if you want respect, give respect; if you want to be given gifts, then give freely of what you have. As simple a statement as this is, how many of include this premise in our daily lives? We wonder why no one cares about us or why people treat us like crap. Well...... look in the mirror(I include myself in this statement). Sorry to be blunt.

The Narrow Gate
Jesus is telling us exactly the opposite message that most televangelists speak. Here He is saying that when we become a follower of Christ it does not mean an instant end to our problems. We will not get rich quick or experience unending health and wealth when we follow Christ. He says clearly that the road to follow Him is narrow and difficult and few will actually undertake such a journey. I will tell you that although my imperfect faith-walk is difficult at times and it has meant sacrifice and change in my life; I would never want to experience another day without the love of my life (Jesus) guiding me and teaching me.

Praise God!!

Have a great day.

God bless.