Devotion #4: Learning to Love
Lesson Three: Ask, and it Will be Given
Mitchell Holmes
If you grew up with siblings, you will know the difficulty of loving someone unconditionally. I am here to tell you, when I was a young boy, there was no one harder for me to love than my three sisters. We had nothing in common. They constantly encroached on my space, toys, TV time, and more. Being the selfish child that I was, I had a very difficult time loving my sisters. I had convinced myself that tolerating my annoying sisters, not knocking their heads together as they deserved, and avoiding them when I was angry with them was all that was required of me to love them.
Jesus, in the passage for today, calls out this form of “love.” To love someone fully and unconditionally requires action and sacrifice. Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but I find it far easier to simply not wish ill on them or avoid them. What Jesus commands is that we, as representatives for Him, do not do the bare minimum of tolerance. He calls us to truly love unconditionally, which requires action. If you think that this seems a task too difficult, you are right. Thankfully, we are not tasked with doing this alone.
Our passage for today comes from Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are 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!” The passage starts with Jesus saying that we have been given the ability to call for help. If you belong to Christ, you can faithfully go and love people in a superhuman way because you have the confidence of God at your back. You can have confidence that no matter what the situation becomes, your eternal resting place is set. God will provide the means to help you overcome any obstacles that arise during the mission of loving people well if you only ask Him for it.
Jesus then concludes our passage for today by drawing a comparison to an earthly (sinful) father who would never abuse his son and how much more our infinitely righteous and holy Heavenly Father cares for us. We who have been given grace and love that we do not deserve ought to demonstrate that same love in an unconditional way to those around us. It is not in an appeasing, tolerant type of way, but in an active, selfless way.