Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.
MATTHEW 7:9-11 (CSB)

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One of my top five strengths on the StrengthsFinder assessment is Input. This strength sounds like the one possessing it needs to have a say in things. Instead, this strength is about collecting things. The person with this strength is a collector of ideas, facts, words, and sayings. My bride would include books among the collectibles.

It did not take long in the early years of serving as a pastor to realize I needed more than a sermon or two for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Those special occasions roll around every year. It would not do to preach the same sermon every year. 

One of the first model sermons I collected was called The Failures of Fatherhood. I disliked the title when I found it and I dislike it still today. Even yesterday I pondered different ways to say the same thing more positively like, How to be a Positive Papa, or How to Succeed in Parenting. 

Another sermon I collected along the way is entitled Give Good Gifts to Your Children. This one I love. I have used this idea over and over through the years. Every parent models behaviors that children pick up on pretty quickly. The lessons passed from one generation to the next through how we live are much more powerful than the instructions we give. 

Every parent knows there are some things we wish our children would not learn from us. We might begin feeling blue if we spend much more time on this thought. Let’s hurry along then.

This text tells us that our Father in heaven, the one and only perfect father, gives good gifts to his children. I love verse 11: “If you . . . know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.”

Our Father in heaven gives us good gifts. He gives better than we ask.

What good gifts can we give our children today? How can we become like our Father in heaven and give better than our children ask? What are the good gifts our Father in heaven would have us pass along to our children and them to their children?

Here are a few ideas:

1. Fearless faith
2. Loyal love
3. Enduring commitment
4. Endless joy
5. Perfect peace
6. Gracious generosity
7. Healthy homes

What would you add? How will you present those gifts today?

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I will give good gifts to my children.

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Our Father, you are the Giver of All Good Things. Your good gifts make life truly good. You give generously to all without finding fault. Your gifts are expressions of your perfect love. Make us fathers and mothers and children more like you. May we ever reflect more of your goodness in all things at all times. Teach us to give good gifts to our children. Amen.