I am often saying to people, "God bless you" or "have a blessed New Year." Today God has led me to reflect on what I mean by this, as well as how those I say it to might interpret it.
In Western society we have distorted the meaning of being bless as having good fortune, getting what we desire, or living in comfort. We are so accustomed to wealth and a life of relative ease (in comparison to most of the world) that we have developed an incredibly low tolerance for pain and even inconvenience.
Few of us feel blessed in 2020 due to the inconvenience and uncertainty imposed on us by the Covid pandemic. Our lives as we have known and liked them have drastically changed. We find ourselves frustrated, fearful and filled with discontent. Yet, for some of us, 2020 has been a year of great blessing and we have learned to be quiet, be alone with God, and begin to understand what it means to live with God's favor.
I have learned this distinction living in a country of extreme poverty, among people who have very little in the way of material possessions, comfort, or convenience, yet believe themselves (correctly) to be greatly blessed by God. It is this Biblical blessing I wish for you this coming year.
In searching for the meaning of being blessed, I first, of course, look to Scripture. The passage in the Bible where the word "blessed" is used most frequently is found in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus himself tells us what it means to be blessed. Careful examinations of this Scripture shows me just how much I have distorted the meaning of being blessed, exchanging it for temporal comforts and pleasures, and forsaking the offer of those things which last for eternity.
Seldom to I wish for others to be "poor in spirit," "persecuted for the sake of righteousness," "mourn," or live as one who is "meek." But these are who, along with the merciful, those who long for justice and peace, and remain pure of heart in a world of darkness, are those who are called "Blessed" by Jesus. (Matt. 5: 3-10).
He goes on to say, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." (Matt. 5:11) How can I wish these things for those I love and care for? But isn't this exactly what Jesus is saying we should see to be and desire to have present in our lives?
How can any of these things make me "happy" (a word often used to demonstrate the meaning of blessed)?
Don't we often used the word "blessed" to refer to those good things in life which we do not deserve, and identifying these things as signs of God's love for us? The problem with this is that the things of the "good life" can make us self-sufficient and proud, depending on ourselves while giving lip-service to the provision of God in our lives. The more I have in terms of material possessions, the more I seem to "need" just a "little bit more."
Can God give us good gifts materially? Of course. He gives us these things, though, as a means of serving Him. We are blessed so we can bless others, not accumulate more for ourselves. This was the challenge Jesus posed to the rich young ruler in the Gospel (Matt. 19:21). It would seem that his possessions are precisely what kept him from following Jesus. This too can happen to us when we are comfortable and secure in our lives in this world. Perhaps this is why Jesus spends so much time in the Beatitudes to teach us what it means to be blessed spiritually, and eternally.
Blessed does not mean we will be comfortable, or secure. Rather, Jesus promises us that if we embrace the life style He identifies in the Sermon on the Mount that we all be shown mercy, comforted, and filled with good things. We will inherit not only the earth but the kingdom of God, and be privileged to be call children of God. We will become holy, and more like Him.
This, then, is what I wish for you. To be blessed with all the blessings promised by Jesus, and experience the satisfaction of growing closer to Him daily. This can be done, regardless of our circumstances, if we set our heart of the things of God.
May you be blessed and be a blessing to others.
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