“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places of Christ.”

                                                                                                            Ephesians 1:3

What does it mean to be blessed? Why are we blessed? And what do we do with the blessing?

There seems to be some misunderstanding about what it means to be “blessed”. To be “blessed” in theological terms means “to be made holy, to be held in reverence”. The earthly and worldly definition, however, means something that brings pleasure, contentment, or good fortune. And that’s where most folks, including Christians, get confused.  We understand a blessing from God as something material or ethereal of this world that makes us happier. It increases our wealth, our health, or our joy. And certainly, God’s blessings do all that. They give us peace even when there seems none to be found. But when someone says they are blessed because the storm didn’t hit their house, does that mean the people whose house it did hit – good, Christian, people – does that mean God removed their blessing? Since they weren’t blessed, are they cursed?

I don’t think so. I don’t believe God operates that way. When I hear someone blame a city (like New Orleans during Katrina) for the hurricanes that hit there because the city is “sin-filled” or “deserved it” . . . really?

The true blessing of God goes all the way back to the Abrahamic covenant; specifically, that we will be made God’s people, holy, righteous and obedient.  Because of His promise we shall inherit eternity in paradise beside Jesus (“the heavenly places of Christ”).  God’s promise of blessing is that He will never leave us. We will be His people and He will be our God. That is the blessing of God.

Why we are blessed goes along the same lines. Because we are obedient, because we are children of God, because God is true to His covenantal Word, because God is forgiving, . . . that is why we are blessed. It is the Father adoring and loving His children. It’s nothing we did to earn it or deserve it. It’s pure and simple grace.

Finally, the answer to, “What do we do with the blessing?”, is easy. You are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. Whatever you receive from God, you are to share it with your brothers and sisters. Show them the way to God’s grace. Share with them God’s mercy. Give to them the same forgiveness that God gives to you. That’s what it means to be blessed and to live a blessed life.

Have a blessed New Year!

Eternal God, thank you for the many blessings You pour out on us each and every day. Help us to be a blessing to others in Jesus’ name, AMEN.