I’ve been wondering if God actually blesses us and if so why and how? As I pray, I am first drawn to the heart of Jesus in John 17:20-23 for the answer. While reading “Jesus Prays for All Believers” it seems clear that what He thought was important (important enough to pray about) was for people to believe in Him through the message of the gospel and know God sent Him into the world, doing so as an expression of His love for us.
Jesus also expressed the importance of unity. He wanted us to look at the union between Himself and God as His Father. Their relationship modeled what He wanted for us as believers, this is a Blessing! God not only blesses us by our relationship with Him but in unity, we find something deeper, intimacy. That’s another blessing their relationship models and He wants to bless us with both.
To wrap up the whole idea of blessings as something more than material stuff, look at Matthew 5:3-11. The Beatitudes in The Sermon on the Mount says, “Blessed are” in 8 separate instances. Here, look for yourself!
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for, in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:3-11 – Read Full Chapter @BibleGateway
Wait a minute, Jesus wants us to feel blessed for being poor in spirit, mourn, be meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted because of righteousness? Last but not least, be ok with being insulted and falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of Him?
Message clear, a blessing isn’t just about possessions! Think about it, wouldn’t we much rather feel comforted when we need it? Be filled with something more lasting than food or receive mercy when we don’t really deserve it and inherit the earth? The best part is having a new address in the kingdom of heaven and seeing God face to face because we are His children!
This affects how we see God and relate to Him, which is important in our daily relationship with Him. I am also drawn to the relationship Jesus had with Peter and John in John 21:15-25 as another example. In this passage, Jesus was clearly upset with Peter, but why?
Jesus started off the conversation by asking (three times) “Peter do you love me?” He then followed up Peter’s response with “Feed my lambs”, “Take care of my sheep”, “Feed my sheep” and “Follow me!” Jesus also hinted at how Peter would die and in his death, glorify God. This frustrated Peter and made him question Jesus (about John) by asking “Lord, what about him?” That’s what made Jesus upset! Peter missed how Jesus wanted to bless him, the Beatitudes make this very clear!
Although Peter was an imperfect man, he lived a life on fire for Christ. In doing so, he ultimately glorified God and would receive a huge blessing in his death. Jesus wanted Peter to recognize how blessed his life had been and was, what a true blessing was to Him. My prayer is we recognize how and when God blesses us! That we praise Him each time and testify to others about His goodness in glory to His name!
