#Blessed
03/06/2022
From the hymns of old to hashtags on social media, there is no shortage of using the word “blessed”. People will often identify themselves as being blessed for all sorts of reasons. Maybe it is something big, like a new job, a new house, a new relationship, or a miraculous protection from harm or consequences. Maybe it is even something as simple as winning the big game, eating your favorite meal, or visiting your favorite spot.
Now… celebrating and enjoying all those things is perfectly fine, in fact, as Christians we are called to have a heart of gratitude. We can certainly pray for things to work out well for us, and we can bless others with gifts and gracefully receive gifts given to us. But… Are those things the “blessings” we see in the Bible? Or, maybe a more important question to ponder is… If someone doesn’t receive those things, are they stilled #blessed?
This is another one of those challenging parts about living in the world but seeing it through the eyes of Jesus. God promises all kinds of blessings on our lives in scripture. The thing is… the Bible’s teachings on blessings are far from the appetite for worldly “blessings” that we develop from the culture. Here are a few differences…
- The blessings from God do not translate to the pleasures and accomplishments of this world.
- There are multiple examples of faithful people in scripture that did not receive “blessings” by the world’s standards.
- We are not told to bask in the glory of our accomplishments and earthly “blessings” (I like to picture Scrooge McDuck swimming in a pile of gold), we are told to steward them with faithfulness and compassion.
Think about the story of Job. Job was a man that was “blameless and upright”, and yet he suffered great loss AND was even thrown under the bus by his own family and friends for not complaining about his less-than “blessed” circumstances.
We see in the teachings of Jesus Himself that we are to be a “cheerful giver” and “not store up for ourselves treasures of earth, but treasures in Heaven.” We also see throughout the Old Testament Prophets, Proverbs, and in the New Testament warning after warning about the dangers of loving our wealth and the importance of holding anything in our lives loosely; ready to let go when asked by God.
And then you have the Beatitudes that were highlighted on Sunday. What are the blessings that followers of Jesus receive? The Kingdom of Heaven, comfort during loss, new life, righteousness, mercy, knowledge of God, identity in Christ, and our eternal (heavenly) rewards. All these blessings are priceless and wonderful gifts of God’s love for us. But… let’s be real… we might not always see them as Instagram worthy.
This time of Lent between now and Resurrection Sunday can be a powerful time of reflection, confession, and restoration. How we view this time, and how we view what it means to be blessed, may determine how this season plays out for us.
I need to ask myself… did I give up Coke for lent so I can receive favor from God? (Dr. Pepper is better anyways…)
Think about this time as not just a chance to challenge ourselves, bargain with God, or receive attention for our fasting (Jesus warns us about this in the same sermon we get the beatitudes from…) Let’s instead take this time to examine ourselves to see if there is something that we could let go of to strengthen our faith in God, deepen our awareness of our need for God, or create more room in our lives to receive the priceless blessing of His Spirit at work in our lives.
Let’s hold firm to the blessing of God’s presence in our lives and hold the “blessings” we receive from life in the world just a little looser during this season of Lent.