Luke 11:9-13
When Jesus ministered to his disciples about asking for the Holy Spirit He uses the analogy of a son asking his father for fish.
Luke 11:11..."What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?"
In this verse, Jesus is focusing on the willingness of a father to give what his child ask for.
Luke 11:13..."...how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
In this verse we see Jesus using the willingness of a natural father to GIVE what his child ASK for to now establish our heavenly Father's willingness to do the same for His children that ASK for the Holy Spirit.
With this comparison in mind, I would imagine that the same son would ask his father for fish every time he was hungry for fish. And I would imagine that this father would give it because he knows that it (fish or eggs) is a necessary thing for his child to have to survive. So the question becomes this, when we need or want the Holy Spirit & all that He provides for us, do we ask our heavenly Father for Him? Again, Jesus uses this analogy to show the willingness of the father/Father to GIVE but also to point out the importance of what He is GIVING by comparing the Holy Spirit to fish; it is said that fish was more important than meat for most common people in that region. Fish was a staple in their diet.
How important is the Holy Spirit to us? And is it a staple in our lives?
If we deem it as important and the main element in our Christian lives as we should, then shouldn't we ASK for it more often? Until now I believed that you ASK for the Holy Spirit once and God GIVES it to you and we are set for life, but now that idea doesn't make much sense after looking at and meditating on these scriptures. We need the Holy Spirit just as much as that child needed fish and I would imagine that he needed fish on a daily basis, so I would imagine that he would ask his father for fish regularly. It was a common thing to eat. If that boy got hungry and there was no fish to be eaten, he was asking his father for it and his father was going out to get it for him. This wasn't a pet but food. It was a necessity.
Remember Jesus used the little boy's fives loaves of bread and two fishes to feed the 5000 (Luke 9:13-17) and also after His resurrection Jesus prepared fish for His disciples on the shore (John 21:9). Could it be that Jesus uses fish to illustrate the importance of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives? On the shore, He uses it to welcome and feed His disciples after a hard fishing trip and in Bethsaida with the five thousand to show the miraculous power of God's willingness to provide in all situations. Don't we need those things in our lives? We do!!! After a hard long day, we need the Holy Spirit to fill us up and put us at peace. And when there seems to not be enough, don't we need the Holy Spirit to make what we do have into more than enough through the power of our God and Father? Again, we do!!! And there is much much more that our heavenly Father can do through the Holy Spirit for those of us who ASK for Him and see Him as a necessity in our daily lives.
So let's get in the habit of ASKING our heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit as a son would ask his father for fish and watch what He provides for us. I believe that God is waiting for us to ASK Him for more so that He can GIVE us more. I believe that the Holy Spirit is waiting to do more in our lives no matter the situation or circumstance. He just needs the invitation to come.
And let's thank our heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit and all that He provides and has provided in our daily life; the leading and guiding, the counsel, and the correction, the teaching, and the revelation, the boldness, and confidence.
#GodGivesGoodGifts #SpiritOfExcellence #Discipleship #SOECampaign #TheHolySpirit #AskAndItShallBeGiven #TheGiftOfTheHolySpirit
コメント