The Perfect Gift-Giver

Weekday Posts
Written By Dean Collins

By Dean Collins

Who is the best gift-giver you know? Maybe that is your reputation. And what makes one a good gift-giver? Is it the value of the gift? Is it the thoughtfulness of the gift? Maybe the timing of the gift? And what about gifts to ourselves? Good gift-givers don’t appear to need any prompting. They seem to know when and what will bring joy and blessing to the recipient. And when we receive these gifts, our hearts are filled with gratitude.

In the seventh chapter of Matthew, toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” 

What an amazing promise! But I suppose that like me, you have asked God for something with great intensity and you didn’t get what you asked for. So, what are we to do with this passage?

Seek more? Ask more earnestly? Knock harder to make sure God hears?

Maybe Matthew’s notes from the sermon got mixed up since this teaching on prayer isn’t in the same section of the sermon where Jesus taught his listeners how to pray. Or could it be that prayer is so vital to our relationship with God that Jesus simply and naturally gives the listener another example of prayer? 

What about those times we prayed and we didn’t get what we asked? Could it be that we were asking for the wrong thing? Tim Keller once said this about prayer:

“We can be sure our prayers are answered precisely in the way we would want them to be answered if we knew everything God knows.”

What if he is the perfect giver? He gives us what we need daily, even when we forget to talk with him. He gives us what is best for us, especially when what we ask for isn’t.   

And just maybe, one of the things we might ask is the part of the sermon that we frequently call the Golden Rule. 

Lord, help us do for others what we wish others would do for us. Forgive us of our selfishness and give us big hearts and open arms to love others the way that you love us. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Your Time with God’s Word
Matthew 7:7-14 ESV

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Dean Collins

Pastor, campus minister, counselor, corporate employee, Fortune 500 consultant, college president—Dean brings a wide range of experiences and perspectives to his daily walk with God’s Word. 

In 1979 he founded Auburn Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational campus ministry that still thrives today. In 1989 he founded and became executive director for New Directions Counseling Center, a service that grew to include several locations and counselors. In 1996 he became vice president of human resources for the CheckFree Corporation (3,000 employees) till founding DC Consulting in 1999. He continues part-time service with that company, offering executive leadership coaching, organizational effectiveness advice, and help with optimizing business relationships.

His latest pursuit, president of Point University since 2006 (interim president 2006-2009), has seen the college grow in enrollment, curriculum, physical campus, and athletic offerings. He led the school’s 2012 name change and relocation from Atlanta Christian College, East Point, Georgia, to Point University in West Point, Georgia. Meanwhile, he serves as board member or active volunteer with several nonprofits addressing issues ranging from global immunization to local government and education. 

He lives in Lanett, Alabama, with his wife, Penny. He has four children (two married) and five grandchildren. He plays the guitar, likes to cook, and enjoys getting outdoors, often on a nearby golf course. 

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