“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
(verses 11-13)
-
Our Father is the giver of every good and perfect gift. If it is ludicrous to think a human father would withhold a good gift and give, instead, something unabashedly evil, how much more so should we expect, confidently, good gifts from our Father in heaven.
That’s specifically what Matthew tells us in his Gospel, making the point of the story the “good gifts“ the Father gives. But here, the point, somewhat unexpectedly, is the good gift of the Holy Spirit.Luke has his eyes and ears keenly attuned throughout his Gospel to any presence or mention of the Spirit, so this is the version of Jesus’ teaching that stands out to him (working with the assumption that Jesus put it both ways in separate recountings of this same statement). Jesus wants us to know, without question, that the Father will certainly give the Holy Spirit to those who sincerely ask.
Taking the broader picture into account, we know this is an integral part of the gift of salvation itself, offered and received through the redemptive work of Jesus. Reborn into the Kingdom of God, children of the heavenly Father receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as their birthright (Rom 8:10, Eph 1:13-14).
But the nature of the illustration (a son asking for food) seems to indicate the ongoing regular activity of asking and receiving, and therefore the ongoing regular bestowal of the Holy Spirit as gift.
This helps me better understand Paul’s command in Ephesians 5:18 that we “be filled with the Holy Spirit.” As a passive command (‘be filled”), the implication is that the filling itself is out of our hands – we can be receptive (or not), but the filling actually comes from the hands of another. Oh, yes – the Father. To fulfill the Ephesians 5 command we rely on the Luke 11 promise – if we ask him, the Father will give more of that filling of the promised Holy Spirit. Like food to a hungry son. Like water to the thirsty ground. Like streams on the parched earth.
-
Oh yes, dear Father, I am hungry. I am thirsty. I need that ongoing refreshing. Today. So, Father, I ask. Please fill me, fresh today, with the promised Holy Spirit. Confidently, I ask. Gratefully, I receive.
-
Receive:
Take time today (once or twice or more) to pause and ask the Father again to fill you with his Spirit. Take time, quietly, to receive.
-
Image by pascal from Pixabay
Comments