Published on 12/15/2005

Commentary

Well, there's good news and bad news today. The good news is that Janet read yesterday's essay and responded immediately. I am now the proud owner of a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The bad news is that it's only two inches long. She made the purchase yesterday in response to my Christmas request, then pointed out that I never specified the dimensions of the cars in question. She didn't tell me the cost of my new car, but I'm guessing it's somewhat under the $1 million I suggested. Apparently, just because I can request a 252 mph roadster for Christmas doesn't mean I should.

Today's New York Times reports on the growing debate over face transplants. Two and a half weeks ago, a woman in Amiens, France received lips, a chin and a nose from a brain-dead donor. Her own face had been gnawed away by her Labrador retriever. Plastic surgeons believe that such procedures for cosmetic purposes are years away, but people are already imagining a day when we can change our faces as often as we change our cars. Just because doctors might be able to do such a thing doesn't mean they should.

You may have heard that Iran's President Ahmadinejad has been claiming that the Holocaust was a "myth" created to justify the existence of Israel. This morning's Wall Street Journal responds that he "sank himself deeper into a flood of international condemnation." Just because a leader can say something doesn't mean he should.

And today's Dallas Morning News tells us that Super Bowl ads will go for the same rate as last year, but that they will still cost $2.4 million per 30 seconds. Just because I could ask Janet to buy me an ad for Christmas doesn't mean I should.

Just because I can ask God for anything doesn't mean I should. Yesterday we remembered Jesus' promise, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14). The condition is clear: "that the Father may be glorified in the Son." God must seek his glory above all others, or he commits idolatry. Seeking his glory gives our lives their best purpose and significance as well. So our Father must answer prayer as it glorifies him, because such answers are best for us.

I don't guess a 252 mph roadster for Christmas glorifies God. Or a new face for cosmetic purposes, or a Super Bowl ad. What was your last request of your Lord? Did you ask it for his glory or for your own? To advance his Kingdom or your own agenda? Christmas is proof that God will pay any price to give us what is best for us. So ask God to meet your needs for his glory, and he will. Even if the answer is only two inches long.