Oct 5, 1998

Bread or Stone?

What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone. --Matthew 7:9

No loving father would give a stone or a snake to his hungry son if he asked him for a piece of bread or a fish. Jesus used the absurdity of that analogy in Matthew 7 to underscore God's readiness to give good things to His disciples when they asked Him. He wanted them to have complete confidence in the heavenly Father's provision for their spiritual needs.

Sometimes, however, it may seem as if the Lord has given us "stones" instead of "bread." But in His wisdom, He actually is working through our circumstances to give us something far better than what we requested. An unknown author expressed it this way: