94 Jesus: "Whoever seeks will find, and for whoever knocks it will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10] 95 "If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give to one who cannot repay you." [Luke 6:34-35; Luke 14:12-14]
Standing alone, there isn't any comfort here. There is only the cruel gnostic offer of Secret Knowledge--a knowledge which is never revealed; never given. What Jesus promises in the Sermon on the Mount is that a believer can ask God and know that God hears our prayers. "For by his word God testifies that our prayer is heartily pleasing to him and will assuredly be heard and granted, so that we may not despise or disdain it or pray uncertainly" (Luther's Large Catechism, Pt. III Lord's Prayer, par. 20.
What God wants is for all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and he chooses to use us as his amabssadors to the world. That's why our message needs to be clear, without deception, and ture: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like me. When we give encouragement to each other, it shouldn't be vague. It shouldn't be conditional. It should just be from the heart, like Gaius did for John's missionaries:
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. (3 John 5-8)
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