"What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread,
will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If you then, being 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!" Matthew 7:9-11
Bread versus stone.
What a comparison! One nourishes, while the other bruises. The bread of life (Jesus) causes one to never go hungry again. (John 6:35) While the stone condemns and even kills.
And there is a reason why the tempter (satan) came to Jesus to tempt Him, saying, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." (Matthew 4:3)
But that which condemns can never sustain.
Fish versus serpent.
One thrives in [living] water. The other is on its belly in the dirt.
One multiplies. (Matthew 14:13-21) The other divides (see the Garden of Eden).
One is the result of preaching the gospel. (We are fishers of men, right?) The other was the agent solely responsible for the need of that gospel.
Bread and fish.
Five thousand men (plus their families) were hungry. Five loaves and two fish were enough to feed them.
In fact, bread and fish are enough for us, too.
The gift of eternal life and the gift of seeing others gain eternal life. They truly are enough.
May we be satisfied with the good and perfect gifts which come from Him!
So very true. We need to be alert and aware of Satan's moves, but take comfort in God's total dominating power over whatever Satan schemes. And we need to be diligent in seeking the Lord daily in order to have victory in our lives. Thank you so much for sharing this encouraging post!
ReplyDelete