Can a Good Father Really Be Trusted?
Month 5: Kingdom Living (Part 2) · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 7:9-11 & Luke 12:6-7
9 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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 ask Him! — Matthew 7:9-11
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. — Luke 12:6-7
Memory Verse
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”— Matthew 6:33 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Nehemiah 8-11
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 130 of 365 — Ezra reads God's Word aloud and the whole nation weeps, then celebrates.)The Heart of It
We've been told all week not to worry, but to trust our Father. But a real heart asks the honest question: can He really be trusted? Jesus answers with a picture every child understands. "What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" (). Of course not! A dad who loves his kid hands him bread, not a rock. Then Jesus drives it home. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (). Notice the how much more. Even flawed, sinful parents usually want good for their kids. God is perfectly good. So His care is far higher and surer than ours.
Luke adds a tender detail. Five sparrows sell for almost nothing, "and not one of them is forgotten before God." And then this: "the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (). God's care isn't a vague, distant kindness. It's specific and personal. He even counts the hairs you lost in your hairbrush this morning. So when someone asks, "How do you know God is good and can be trusted?" we don't just shrug. We point to the cross. The Father proved His goodness by giving up His own Son for us (). He is not going to suddenly turn stingy now. The God we're learning to seek first is a Father worth every ounce of our trust.
Around the Table
A good daddy gives his kid bread, not a rock! And God is the very best Father. He always wants good for you.
Let's do it: Try to count the hairs on someone's head for three seconds. It's impossible! But God already knows the exact number.
Jesus uses the words "how much more." Even imperfect parents give good gifts. So our perfect God gives even better gifts. That's a strong reason to trust Him.
Let's talk: Why might it be hard to trust God even when He's good? What helps you believe He really cares about you?
This is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If fallen humans give good gifts, the perfect Father certainly will. The clincher is the cross. God already gave His best ().
Let's go deeper: When someone says, "If God is good, why is there suffering?", how does Jesus' "good Father" teaching, along with the cross, help you answer with both honesty and hope?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's the best gift you've ever been given? Jesus says God gives even better gifts to His children than the people who love us most.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "How can you trust a God you can't see? And how do you know He's good?" reply gently. "We don't trust blindly. God showed His goodness in history by sending Jesus. Jesus healed, taught, died for us, and rose again. He said even imperfect parents give their kids good gifts. So how much more will a perfect Father? And He proved it at the cross. He didn't spare His own Son (). A God who gives that much can be trusted with my smaller needs." That's holding our hope with gentleness and reason ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Here is a sobering and hopeful truth. For your children, you are the first picture of fatherhood they ever see. They will tend to imagine God's character through the lens of yours. When you keep promises, listen without exploding, and give good gifts, you make it easier for them to believe in a Father who does the same, only perfectly. When you're harsh, absent, or unpredictable, you don't change who God is. But you do make Him harder for a child to trust. Jesus' "how much more" cuts both ways. It dignifies your imperfect love, and it points beyond it. So pursue being a trustworthy father. Not as a performance, but as quiet evangelism. And where you fall short, be quick to repent in front of your kids. Point them past you to the Father who never fails.
Draws on: D.A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that You are good. You are better than the best dad on earth. You count our hairs and never forget us. Help us trust Your goodness, even when life is hard. We see Your love most of all at the cross. In Jesus' name, amen."
My Father gives good gifts and never forgets me. He has proven He can be trusted.