CC 10: Ask

As Finn (my son) grows older, it has been fun to introduce him to movies that I grew up watching. One of my favorites was Aladdin. Not only because Robin Williams gives what might be the most incredible voice acting anyone has ever done as “The Genie” but also because it is fun to think about what I would do if a genie came out of a lamp and gave me three wishes. Would I wish for a billion dollars? Would I wish to be a famous movie star or ruler of the world? Or perhaps just to be a couple of inches taller? What is interesting in most movies where a character can wish for anything, is that the wish almost always backfires in someway, never being all the character dreamed it would be. In the passage of the sermon on the mount we are looking at today, Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find.” What does this mean? Is Jesus saying I get whatever I pray for? Then why does it feel like God remains so silent when I ask for something, even when it feels like it would benefit His kingdom?