SONSHIP NOT FRIENDSHIP!

 

Thursday, November 18, 2021

 

SONSHIP NOT FRIENDSHIP!

 

Matt 7:11 & Luke 11:13

11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

 

          Warren Weirsbe reminds us that our prayers are based on “son-ship” and not “friendship.” Yet Jesus uses friendship as an illustration of persistence in prayer.

 

Luke 11:5-7

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

 

          Jesus actually suggested that one who is not a son but a “friend” might also receive an answer to prayer by being a pest in asking! The squeaky wheel really does get the grease! But where are the children? They are snug in bed with the Father and the Father is occupied with the care of the children.

 

          Next Jesus reminds us that the manner in which the Father cares for the needs of the children is a testimony to his character. Even an evil father would not give a snake as an answer for a fish. He would not substitute a stone for a request for bread. Comparing God the Father to these evil fathers, what might we expect from our Heavenly Father? The answer is good gifts and good things. God’s gifts are not only based upon His riches – they are based upon our relationship!

 

          How is your relationship with the Father? Are you a true son through the adoption of salvation? If so, then you can expect God’s tender care in giving you good things. Are you only a “friend” of God but not yet a son? You also can expect good things, but it will require you to persistently ask. It is better to petition for adoption by asking Him for forgiveness of your sins, repenting of them, and becoming born again. Jesus promised that “he that cometh to me I will not cast out.”

 

Dear Father, thank you for adopting me into your family. Thank you for your special care which is based upon our relationship. AMEN