You’re Blessed
Matthew 5: 1-10 (The Message)
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he
climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed
with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing
companions. This is what he said:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of
your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
“You’re blessed when you feel you've lost
what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to
you.
“You’re blessed when you’re content with
just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud
owners of everything that can’t be bought.
“You’re blessed when you've worked up a
good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
“You’re blessed when you care. At the
moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
“You’re blessed when you get your inside
world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
“You’re blessed when you can show people
how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you
really are, and your place in God’s family.
“You’re blessed when your commitment to
God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s
kingdom.
I
often wonder, what do they mean? I always thought that be blessed meant: 'to be
favored by God'. So why do I hear this term from non-Christians and cringe?
Well
there are 2 meanings, one as an adjective and one as a noun.
Adjective:
made holy; consecrated. The word consecrated is a past tense of consecrate,
which means: make or declare sacred.
Noun:
those who live with God in heaven.
So
if someone says I am blessed, what do they mean? I guess it’s not living in
Heaven with God, as this would make them dead. So I would assume that this has
an adjective meaning. I am blessed.
Matthew 7:6 (The
Message)
“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no
honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant,
you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.
So
with that in mind then it would mean that you are made holy or made sacred.
Wow, now that becomes a powerful statement! I did a quick search through the NIV
Bible and found 217 references to bless(ed). Each one of these scriptures
involves God’s blessing on someone.
So
I am blessed, must mean that God has blessed you in some way. So when I hear
this from non-Christians, how do they know that they are blessed? Or are they
just saying they are really lucky? I would venture to say that they are really
lucky.
Now
as a Christian, we KNOW that we are blessed. How do we know that?
Matthew 13:11,
16 (NIV) He replied,
“Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your
ears because they hear.
So
getting back to the non-Christians and their use of I am blessed, where do they
get their knowledge of being blessed. The only thing I can think of is that
they have HOPE that they will actually get the blessing from God. How do they
get that blessing? Well it would start with you, Christian, in sharing your
knowledge of being blessed. Ask them what they think they mean when they say I
am blessed. Then share your knowledge that blessed means a blessing from the
Lord and ask them if they know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
Because
being blessed also means you know God and it is your mission to share the Word
of God with those that do not. Let them know that they can truly be blessed.
All they have to do to petition the Lord.
Matthew 7:7-8 7
(NIV)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the
one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Once
they knock and ask, then I truly believe that they can say with authority; I AM
BLESSED!
Jeremiah 17:7 “But
blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
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