Verse of the Day for July 19

Verse seven is famous on its own. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. The verse before it is quoted far less, and it is a little strange.

neither cast ye your pearls before swine. Jesus assumes his listeners are already carrying something holy, something precious enough to be trampled. Before he tells them to ask for more, he tells them to take care of what they have.

That changes how the asking sounds. It is not a beggar at a gate with nothing. It is a child who has already been given pearls, coming back to the same Father for bread. For every one that asketh receiveth. Every one. Those already holding gifts are invited to keep asking.

Gratitude and asking are not opposites. The person who notices what is already in their hands, a roof, a friend who calls, a mind that still works, often asks more freely, because they know the kind of Father they are asking.

Tonight, before you list what you need, put your hands on what you have. The plate in front of you. The child asleep in the next room. Name them as gifts. Then ask, seek and knock from inside that gratitude.

Look after what is holy before you ask for more.

Asking from gratitude sounds different from asking from fear.