Relating to God

Colleges often aim to set themselves apart from other schools by advertising their low student-faculty ratio. If comparing a school with a 20:1 student-faculty ratio to a school with a 10:1 ratio, the latter may be preferable. The assumption is that as a student, you will have a greater opportunity for mentorship and academic support if your professors are tending to fewer students. Unfortunately, Earth’s human-God ratio is about 8 billion to 1. That’s not a great sign for anyone hoping to have personal access to God. But in our passage today, we’re reminded that God is a bit more flexible and better at multi-tasking than the typical college professor.

If we live in God’s kingdom, we can relate to God in a different, more personal way than we might expect, and certainly, in a more personal way than Jesus’ original audience would’ve expected. In verses 7 and 8, Jesus indicates the unfettered, relational access to God that his disciples will have. We’re assured that God is not interested in hiding from us or keeping us at arm's length. He has made Himself available to His people.

Perhaps, Jesus knew that his “ask, seek, knock” teaching would be met with skepticism from those of us who think it sounds too good to be true because he quickly supports the reality of God’s love and graciousness with a logical argument. Regular, flawed, human dads who love their kids will gladly do whatever they can to give those kids what they need. God is the perfect Father. Every human father is merely a little, inadequate image of Him. His love for His children exceeds even the best experience anyone has had with a human father. So, we shouldn’t doubt God's shockingly generous, gracious, and loving disposition toward us. We’re not just citizens in His kingdom, we’re His adopted and chosen children (Eph. 1:5).

Living in God’s kingdom reshapes the way we relate to God. The way we relate to God is also, once again, intrinsically connected to the way we relate to others. Jesus reiterates the heart of God’s commands in the Old Testament, reminding us that God’s people are ultimately to treat one another rightly. Jesus is inviting us to embrace life in a kingdom where each of us enjoys a personal relationship with God and restored relationships with others.

Discussion Questions

• Icebreaker: What is the best hiding spot you’ve used in a game of hide and seek?
• How do you harmonize verses 7 & 8 with your own experiences of not receiving what you’ve requested from God? How should we understand Jesus’ words here?
• What do you find yourself asking God for the most often?
• Is it difficult for you to make requests when you pray? What emotions or thoughts do you have when making personal requests in prayer?
• Why is the way we treat one another so important to God? How could it possibly sum up the entire Old Testament (“the Law and the Prophets”)?
• Which words of Jesus do you find the most comforting in this passage? Why?