Gifts Given by God || Luke 11:13 || Manna for the Mind #68

Welcome to Day 68 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage, Luke 11:13, is a direct message to you. It’s about how God, just like a loving parent, wants to give you good things.

Luke 11:13

13          So if you sinful people 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.”

Even though good parents make mistakes, they treat their children well. There’s a lot of nuances in that statement. Good parents make mistakes. I’d venture to say that all parents have made a mistake at least once. I’ve yet to hear of a perfect parent, but if you’re out there, I pray that the Spirit leads you to write a parenting blog or book. Either way, parents are humans. Parents are in a continuous learning process as their new offspring continue to grow, mature, and adapt to the new life they were given. Will they get it right? Sometimes. Will they get it wrong? Sometimes. People are individuals. They are unique to their environments and their communities. People are always searching for the “best” solution for their environment, but it works sometimes and doesn’t in others. Yet, above all the mistakes they made, good parents will have the positive well-being of their children as their end goal. Some parents don’t. They have their own ego as their end goal. They have their ” mistake ” and guilt and resentment from that as their end goal. Good parents will still do everything they can to care for and nurture their children.

With all that in mind, connecting to real-life situations, think of our heavenly Father, God. He’s all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-seeing. How better of a situation to have him as our almighty Father. Humans try their best to care for one another, especially their children. God is always at his best to care for each of us. There’s no trial-and-error setup with raising us with God. God has the best gift for all of us, The Holy Spirit. He promised to give the Holy Spirit to all of us after his death, resurrection, and return to heaven. It’s having the divine nature of God residing inside of us to go out and fulfill the Great Commission. It’s gathering with believers with the same Spirit, connecting with them as they are, and learning how to care for and love one another the way God loves us. If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Pentecost (the beginning of the church and the reception of the Holy Spirit), I encourage you to read Acts 2. However, I’ll jump to James 1:17 to continue discussing this gift.

James 1:17

17          Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

The Bible often compares goodness with light and evil with shadows and darkness. It’s fun to go back through the Bible and see how this imagery shows us. The color white, or the light shown by God, is shown as an example of God’s goodness or purity. Think about how the blood of Jesus was shed to make us white as snow. Think about how sin shows up as a shadow crouching in the darkness. This type of imagery shows itself from Genesis to Revelation.

God is the sovereign (aka powerful) creator of the sun, moon, and stars. He gives us these good gifts and illuminates our minds to see the good in these gifts. This concept gives us a new way to read the Creation Stories in Genesis 1 and 2. We can understand what the sun, moon, and stars are, and we can understand what these sources of light represent in our world today and how they function to better our world. That same source of light resides inside of us. We are to use this light to shine God’s glory and goodness to those around us and benefit our world. The light shines on the wisdom, strengths, and guidance needed to see the promise and good things about the gifts we’re given. Sometimes, they can feel like a curse, but God doesn’t create anything for evil. God creates all things for good. It’s time for us to recognize that goodness and work towards seeing and using everything in its sound and proper way. As his chosen people, we receive this preview of heaven. As taught in the Lord’s prayer, we’re called to bring the Kingdom of Heaven down to the earth. May we be that vessel to show God’s light through our gifts to the world around us.

Father God, we thank you for blessing us with the gifts you’ve given. We don’t deserve them based on our actions, but you still see the good in us. You use the good in us to help merge the realms of heaven with the realm we experience on earth. Sometimes, these gifts don’t make sense. Please give us the wisdom, courage, and strength to use these gifts in a way that benefits and glorifies you. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.