Snake or Fish?

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"There isn't a person among you who would give his son a stone if he asked for bread, is there? Or if he asks for a fish, he wouldn't give him a snake, would he? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who keep on asking him!" Matthew 7:9-11 ISV

Chinese father, perhaps? (Chinese eat snake!) Bill B.

About 1995 I was rowing a small boat on our campus' Lotus Lake with Mr. Kuang from Xiamen University's Foreign Affairs. Big fish were swimming beneath the surface, and I said, "I'd sure love to have one of those fish for supper!" Within a couple seconds a large fish flew out of the water and onto my lap, scaring me half to death. Mr. Kuang was shocked and said, "Wah! You have the luck of the Emperor!"

I rowed the boat to shore and handed the fish to the man responsible for stocking the lake, but when he heard the story, he laughed and said, "It jumped in your lap, it's your fish!" So...we had fish for supper!

Luck? Probably. These fish do jump a lot--but into my lap right after I was talking about them? Maybe their ears were burning...

Whether coincidence or not, at the time I could not help but think of Jesus asking what father would give their son a snake if they asked for a fish (excluding a Chinese father, perhaps, because Chinese love to eat snakes). And Jesus said that if we give good things to our children when they ask, how much more our Heavenly Father will give good things to his children if we ask. And sometimes we don't even have to ask. Nothing makes me happier than make my sons happy, and I often give them what they need or want before they ask. In the same way, our Father delights in giving to his children.

Still, I do expect my sons to ask--and I also hope they express at least a little gratitude. I hope that I show gratitude to my Heavenly Father, and don't take my Daily Bread (or fish!) for granted. As Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God." And verse 7 promises that if we ask with thanksgiving, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

And next time I'm rowing my little boat on Lotus Lake I'll ask for a pizza....
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