.jpg)
One morning, a young man named Titus came to me and asked: “Pastor Bud, what does that mean . . . to bless someone?”
Well, according to George Failing in the very reliable Beacon Dictionary of Theology, to “bless” means “to enrich, prosper, protect, and multiply with temporal overtones.” In other cases “to bless meant to praise, to thank, and/or to congratulate.” More importantly, and often in the New Testament, the word is associated with grace and God’s redemptive love.
So, does that help? Still not clear? Okay, let’s try this.
Blessings can come from God or people. A blessing can be seen as divine favor . . . an inner spiritual quality. A blessing can spring forth from a strong sense of God’s love and presence. But a blessing can also come from others. Words, prayers, acts of kindness or compassion. These too can bless.
I like David Spangler’s description: “At heart, giving a blessing is really quite simple. We innately know how to do it, precisely because it comes from the heart, from a sense of caring and helpfulness. Every time you create safety and reassurance where before there was fear, you are giving a blessing. Every time you perform an act of kindness, providing money where there is poverty, shelter where there was vulnerability, food where there was hunger, love where there was loneliness, comfort and encouragement where there was despair and depression, you are being a blessing. There is no special technique other than having an open, generous heart and a loving, aware mind. You don’t have to possess any particular gift in order to embody goodwill or to be kind and helpful.”
So for the remainder of 2015, I encourage you to make yourself available to God and be a blessing. Out of your life, let Jesus shine.
Well, according to George Failing in the very reliable Beacon Dictionary of Theology, to “bless” means “to enrich, prosper, protect, and multiply with temporal overtones.” In other cases “to bless meant to praise, to thank, and/or to congratulate.” More importantly, and often in the New Testament, the word is associated with grace and God’s redemptive love.
So, does that help? Still not clear? Okay, let’s try this.
Blessings can come from God or people. A blessing can be seen as divine favor . . . an inner spiritual quality. A blessing can spring forth from a strong sense of God’s love and presence. But a blessing can also come from others. Words, prayers, acts of kindness or compassion. These too can bless.
I like David Spangler’s description: “At heart, giving a blessing is really quite simple. We innately know how to do it, precisely because it comes from the heart, from a sense of caring and helpfulness. Every time you create safety and reassurance where before there was fear, you are giving a blessing. Every time you perform an act of kindness, providing money where there is poverty, shelter where there was vulnerability, food where there was hunger, love where there was loneliness, comfort and encouragement where there was despair and depression, you are being a blessing. There is no special technique other than having an open, generous heart and a loving, aware mind. You don’t have to possess any particular gift in order to embody goodwill or to be kind and helpful.”
So for the remainder of 2015, I encourage you to make yourself available to God and be a blessing. Out of your life, let Jesus shine.
No comments:
Post a Comment