Good, Good Father — John Drage | Living with Brain Cancer

As I woke this morning I again figured out that this cancer is not just a long bad dream. It is my new reality. I feel nervous and a little uneasy as we are about to get up and attack the day. It is interesting how I often use a violent verb to describe how I want to do the day. But again, I sense a low grade anxiety in my gut. I tried to be still in bed as to not wake Amy.

I know this next idea may sound really strange to you, but as I looked at the clock I saw 7:11. Over the last 33 years I have memorized hundreds of Bible verses. I often try to remember a verse with that reference, Matthew 7:11 quickly came to the surface. Think with me about this. “You, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who are His?” I have thought and thought about this verse for the last 30 years, often times prompted by the clock. The logic in the lines of this scripture is one of comparison and contrast. God the Father and our earthly fathers are similar and they are different. They are similar in the sense that good earthly fathers love to douse their kids with gifts, as does the Lord. But different in the sense that the Father is infinitely good and our earthly fathers are sinners. What a contrasting thought.

““You, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who are His?””

This concept goes further. God is a giver, not a taker. Many of us think He is a take-away God. This scripture shows us the gracious One. Matthew 7 is all about Jesus teaching on prayer in the great Sermon on the Mount. Earlier Jesus instructs us to ASK, SEEK and KNOCK. On this idea, God is the giver. We believe that God so loved the world that He GAVE His one and only Son. Not only does He take care of all of our needs, but He offers up His own son to be sacrificed on a cross so we do not have to. We have an enormously generous Father! Our responsibility is to merely humbly accept the gift.

Today I asked Him for as many days as possible. I asked Him to help lead us with big decisions. I asked Him for big doses of peace for Amy, our kids, our friends and for me.

I want to hear these familiar words over and over today, “You, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will He give good gifts to those who are His.”

Check out this song called “Yes I will".