March 4 – LD 9,
Day 7: My Father Sends to Me All Things in His Great Love!
by Rev. G. Van Baren
Read: Matthew
7:7-13
The Catechism presents
all of the essential doctrines of Holy Scripture for our instruction. But
again, the Catechism now makes the glorious truth of Trinity and the Fatherhood
of the First Person, so very personal. This Father of Jesus Christ, the
Almighty Creator is, difficult as it is to believe, my Father for Jesus’ sake. Father surely will provide
all things necessary for soul and body. Jesus reminds of that fact in
Matthew 7:11. Jesus does not promise great wealth or healing of every
sickness. He does promise us “all things necessary for soul and
body. In the “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus taught us to ask: “Give us this day
our daily bread.” We ask for bread for the day—and with that we must be
content. If Father is pleased to give much more, we have the added
responsibility of using all to the glory of our God.
It is more difficult to
understand the care of our heavenly Father when we become sick and soon might
die. Why must the Christian endure the terribleness of warfare? Why
does the Christian sometimes lose all that he possesses through fire or
wind? What about Christian parents who lose a child?
Some have claimed that
God sends only health and prosperity to His children. It is the devil who
sends the adverse things. Only if one asks Father in faith, will he be
healed. If he lacks sufficient faith, he likely will not be healed.
Notice the Scriptural
truth the Catechism emphasizes: “…He will make whatever evils He sends upon me…” Yes, He also
sends to His people poverty, sickness, and death as well. Is. 45:7 makes
this plain: God makes peace and creates evil. Psalm 119 repeatedly
emphasizes that great truth that “affliction has been for my profit….”
And Rom. 8:28 teaches that all things work together for good to them that love
God. Therefore the same chapter points out that there is nothing which
can separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Is this not a most glorious
assurance? The Almighty God is able to work all for our good and willing
to do so being “a faithful Father.”
When adversity comes, we
do not understand always the “why.” We are tempted to be critical of our
Father. Yet we must be content in the knowledge that our understanding of
the “why” is so limited. We are content to leave it to our Almighty
Father. He knows best what we need—and provides that.