“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?  Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

- Luke 11:9-13

Jesus was in a certain place praying. After He finished one of His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus gave the disciples the prayer template we know as the Lord’s Prayer and He continued teaching about prayer. He asked the disciples to imagine themselves in a time of need, late at night, persistently knocking on a friend’s door for help, and the friend provided the help needed. Jesus continued instructing His disciples to ask, seek and knock, and then He asked them to imagine being a parent whose child asks for a fish or an egg. He asked them to consider whether they would give their child a snake or a scorpion instead. Jesus continued, presuming they would give good gifts to their hypothetical children, saying, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

Jesus is speaking to His disciples, His closest followers, the ones being groomed to build His church, the recipients of His most intimate instruction, the fertile soil within whom seeds are growing, and Jesus describes these select few as “you then, who are evil.”  

When I consider evil, I rarely look in the mirror. It is easy, comforting perhaps, to consider evil as something displayed in newspaper stories and images describing far away places and events. I see images of war and read stories about people doing horrific things to others and I lock my doors at night to protect us from evil because it is easy to think about evil as being something out there, in the darkness, in the distance. But Jesus forces me to look in the mirror and realize that I can see evil there as well.

“You then, who are evil …” But aren’t we good? Aren’t we good people? The answer depends on where “good” is on the scale. Consider how Jesus views “good.”

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Mark 10:17-18).

According to Scripture, only God is good and every person (except Jesus) has sinned and has fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). We may seem good to ourselves when viewed through our own cloudy and flawed vision in comparison to others who we do not really know, but not when viewed in comparison to God.

This is vitally important because if we buy into the myth that we are each basically good, if we believe that I’m good and you’re good, we’re all good, then why should we concern ourselves with notions of salvation, redemption, the transformation available through Christ Jesus? Because if we are all good, doesn’t it seem reasonable that a good, just, merciful, loving God will see that we are good? And if we are all good, then shouldn’t it follow that we will all gain the kingdom of heaven, eternal life, life abundant? Because we are good, right? I mean, haven’t we earned that right by our goodness? But that is a myth, it is a lie, it is a deception designed by the father of lies to keep us away from Christ Jesus.

We are not good. Only God is good. We are evil and because of this ugly fact, we have only one source of hope. Every person is in need of redemption, wholeness, life abundant, eternal life, the kingdom of heaven. Every person is in need of Christ Jesus, the only gate, the only path, the only way to God the Father.

With this in mind, I ask you to do a few things. First, when you read articles about people who have acted in horrific ways to other people, pray for the victims and their families, and pray for the perpetrators because we share the same seeds of evil that are in them, we are all in need of God’s healing grace, we are all in need of spiritual transformation through the Holy Spirit. Second, as you are out in the world, continue to allow God’s love, light and life to flow through you. Continue serving as a beacon of light out in the darkness, revealing God’s glory to a world in need. And third, see the places you go each day as your mission field where you work on God’s holy mission here on earth.

May you see others with compassion and understanding and empathy, and may God’s glory continue to shine through you.