As the people of God we know that we have been called to be a blessing to those around us. At LifeSpring especially we continue to return to this Kingdom reality: We are blessed to be a blessing!
While we often refer back to God’s initial call to Abraham (Genesis 12) and the covenant they formed together – the same promises that continue to bind us to the Lord – Jesus also taught about what it means to be blessed.
At the very beginning of his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus outlined what Kingdom Blessings look like… and they are quite different than we might expect.
Aaron White, the National Director of 24/7 prayer in Canada has recently released a book all about the Beatitudes and the ways these teachings have intersected with his life and ministry in the Downtown Eastend of Vancouver. Recovering: From Brokenness and Addiction to Blessedness and Community includes countless stories of how Aaron and his family have experienced the blessings of the poor in the spirit, those who mourn, the meek and the persecuted in communities of recovery.
Not only can we learn more about what being blessed looks like in the Kingdom of God, there are certain practices and postures that we will learn along the way. Things that can help us remain in that place of blessing others… not just with our finances or physical blessings, but with what we have learned as we journey on this road of Kingdom Blessedness.
Here is a rewording/expanded translation of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
who know their own desperation and their need.
Blessed are those who mourn, who are wrapped in sorrow,
either from deep loss or from the recognition of sin and brokenness.
Blessed are the meek, who live vulnerably but
without compromise in the face of power and aggression.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
who know that without God the world will die of spiritual hunger and dehydration.
Blessed are the merciful, who forgo wrath and embrace compassion
in a world that rewards and romanticizes vengeance.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
who seek holiness in a profoundly impure world.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
who challenge outrageous violence and hatred with the hope of shalom.
Blessed are the persecuted, insulted, slandered, and falsely accused,
who join Jesus in picking up their cross.” (p. 34)
These blessings are game-changers to the way we live our lives as the people of God. Not only have we been instructed to be a blessing to others, we have also been shown what “blessed” means to Jesus. We have seen him live it out!
“Who embodies the Beatitudes more than Jesus? Who is poorer of spirit, more mournful, meeker, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, more merciful, purer of heart, more of a peacemaker, and more persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Christ does not just bless the broken; he is the broken. And Christ is also the exemplar of the “blessed”: the inheritor of heaven and earth, the son of God, the comforted, the fulfilled. He is the perfect picture of what it means to be fully human in our brokenness and blessedness.” (p. 37)
Consider this Covenant Prayer (also known as a prayer of commitment) from the Wesleyan Tradition… truly consider the words you’re reading and speaking out. It can be a deeply transformative prayer and also a deeply challenging one!
As we continue to make every effort in becoming mature children of God, let us continue to look to Jesus as our example of being blessed and blessing others. May we do the difficult work of having the Lord search our hearts and may we do so together as the church family of LifeSpring. May we be committed to deepening our connection to the Lord as well as to one another.
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O Glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.