Genesis 12:1-3 English Standard Version
The Call of Abram
12 Now the Lord said[a] to Abram, “Go from your country[b] and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[c]
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
When God called Abram to suddenly leave his country for a promised land filled with Milk and Honey, He made one of the most beautiful promises ever.
God promised to make Abram into a great nation and to bless him to become a blessing to all peoples on earth. That nation was the people of Israel, and the promise was fulfilled through the coming of Jesus Christ. Through his coming all peoples on earth are invited to enjoy the salvation of the one true God.
It was a one-time promise to Abram. But God’s covenant of grace made with Abraham has continued through every generation since then.
God’s promise to bless people to be a blessing is also for his New Testament people, the church of Jesus Christ.
God has blessed us with hosts of creatively gifted people and almost unlimited resources. In many lands God has blessed us with the freedom to worship, and today we can use many forms of sophisticated technology to spread the gospel.
Blessed to be a blessing!
God blessed us that we should be the same magnitude of blessing unto others.
That explains why we are privileged to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
That explains why we-through our churches, our congregations. our ministries and other Christian ministries–can work with others to plant churches, extend the hand of God through clothing and food giveaways, hold community events for all age groups, support our communities with resources that educate and inform them, spread the gospel in our neighborhoods, out into many countries, publish Christian literature, and minister in mercy and mission in some of the most remote vulnerable areas on the planet. There are no shortage of blessings.
If We Are Ever Asked; What Does a Blessed Life Truly Look Like?
Perhaps you’ve asked an acquaintance, or been asked by an acquaintance, or by a complete stranger, how we/they’re doing, gotten the reply, “I’m blessed.”
In some ways, it’s tempting to think the term “blessed” is synonymous with any of the other social niceties we hear: I’m doing well, all is great, just fine.
But “I’m blessed” is actually an head turning, far better, richer, and deeper response than any of these others, filled with complex and nuanced meaning about someone’s genuine state of being and right relationship with the Lord.
Blessedness is a state of being that stands beyond every-day, surface-level circumstances. Indeed, a person who is living a blessed life is filled with a sense of true joy, hope, peace, and contentment even in extremely difficult situations.
The word “blessed” used in the New Testament comes from the Greek word makarios, which means bestowed with God’s favor, happy, or fortunate — not fortunate because of fortune or luck, but because of God’s providence and favor.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, considered herself to be blessed by the honor of carrying the Christ child (Luke 1:48). In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called “blessed” those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek and merciful, who are peacemakers, hunger and thirst for righteousness and so on.
While on earth these things might not always seem like obvious blessings to everyone for those countless future generations, God has a different standard.
Let’s a take a look at what a blessed life truly looks like.
A State of Hope
A blessed life is a life spent in righteous relationship with God. One who is blessed understands life is far more that the days we spend on this earth.
They know we’re what the apostle Paul termed “citizens of heaven,” with one foot in this world and one in the next (Philippians 3:20). We long for God’s goodness, long to do our best to stay in alignment with God and on his path.
While we might inevitably stray, we correct our course as best as possible and then return to him. We value what God values: love, peace, justice, and mercy.
Because of this, and because we devote ourselves to God’s way, we are assured of our salvation. We know that whatever might befall us in this life — sickness, suffering, persecution, poverty, etc. — our eternal reward awaits us in heaven.
As the psalmist writes in Psalm 1:1-3,
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers.”
Blessedness does not mean everything is perfect in their life.
It simply means they know how their story will end, and who they belong to — the Lord. Because of this, they can live their days filled with blessed hope no matter what measure of adversity comes knocking on their door. (Job 1:20-21)
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
A True Relationship
A blessed life is also one that transcends feeling. Blessedness, like hope and joy, doesn’t necessarily mean happiness, though one who is blessed may feel happy.
In fact, like Job, often people who are blessed are experiencing deep affliction and difficulty. Still, they take this in stride, understanding that their joy and hope and faith are steadfastly rooted in the Lord, not today’s circumstances.
They hold fast to what Jesus taught in John 16:33:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
They know genuine contentment doesn’t come from things of the flesh, from material items or worldly success, but a personal relationship with the Lord.
An Internal State of Well-Being
Sometimes, blessedness feels a little like “opposite day,” a game I played when I was a kid. On opposite day, I’d say, “Bad evening,” when I meant to say “good morning,” or “No” when I meant “yes.”
Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by flipping upside down what many people of his day thought about a life favored by God.
Back then, people thought if you had a lot of money or kids, perhaps a lot of land or cattle to pass on as a legacy, then you were somehow favored by God.
Perhaps many of us think the same thing today, that worldly prosperity is somehow interictally tied up with God’s favor and His high regard for us.
But Jesus taught us that blessedness is actually an internal, not an external, state of well-being, and sometimes those who are most “blessed” are those who seem to have very little.
As he said,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3-10).
Later, in Matthew 19:23-25, Jesus said it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God — worldly prosperity isn’t the blessing we think it is, are led, taught to believe.
In fact, it’s too often a hindrance.
True blessedness is living life in line with Jesus, following him and making him Lord of our whole lives. (Psalm 23)
23 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
3 he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.
5 You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.
6 Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.
A Filling of the Spirit
Perfect unity with Jesus is the goal of a truly blessed life. While Christians are those who follow Jesus and strive to live as he commanded, the true mark of a Christian life is someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who believes has a part of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit, alive inside their hearts.
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:16, we are God’s temple, and God’s Spirit dwells within us.
He elaborated on this in Ephesians 1:13-14, noting,
“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.”
We who believe are blessed because we have a portion of the Lord within us, steering and guiding us through all of life’s rocky situations.
The Holy Spirit is our friend and our advocate, a gift from God, (John 14:26).
Whatever we do, and wherever this earthly life takes us, we can implicitly trust we’re 100% blessed because this immense, extravagant gift is with us always.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve appeared to live in a state of perfected blessedness, one with the Lord and able to talk and walk with him freely.
Their sin drove a wall between them and God, and God exiled them from his perfect garden. While he loved his creation, they no longer lived in a state of perfect favor and blessedness because they had broke sacred trust with him.
Today because of Jesus, we have the opportunity to have that blessed state restored. We, who were sinners, are now forgiven because of Christ.
And because we believe in Christ as our Savior, we’re made right with the Lord once more.
That is the epitome of blessedness.
So this coming Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, New Year’s eve, or New Years Day, the next time someone asks you how you are, take a look at your heart. Are you a believer, filled with the Holy Spirit and doing your best to walk in the way, truth of the Lord? If so, then you can rest assured that you are indeed blessed.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 Complete Jewish Bible
16 (0) Mikhtam. By David:
(1) Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.
2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
3 The holy people in the land are the ones
who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.
4 Those who run after another god
multiply their sorrows;
To such gods I will not offer
drink offerings of blood
or take their names on my lips.
5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup:
you safeguard my share.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
I am content with my heritage.
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
8 I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices,
and my body too rests in safety;
10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol,
you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.
11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 