God loves to bless, and our blessings are meant to bless others. In fact, God’s commitment to bless is so strong that even his curse of punishment for humanity’s first sin included a greater promise of blessing. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s sole command, he cast them from the Garden of Eden into lives of toil and pain. But at the same time he promised that he eventually would obliterate sin, Satan and death "Genesis 3:14-19". God said, “I will put enmity between you "the serpent" and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” "Genesis 3:15". We can see God’s blessing working clearly in the life of Abraham, the “father of the faithful.” When God called Abraham, he promised, “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing ... and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”
"Genesis 12:2-3". Here we see that God’s blessing is not limited to individuals or even families; rather, God’s blessing is expansive. God blesses Abraham so that he will become a blessing to all. The story of Joseph and his personal suffering and eventual rise to power tells me how God blessed his people in order that they may bless others. Even though Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, God blessed him by putting him in authority over all Egypt during a time of famine “to preserve life” "Genesis 45:5".
God blesses his people so that they will become blessings and preserve life
"2Corinthians 9:11". Such blessing is never merely spiritual or merely material, but rather, God’s blessing is realized through acts of “righteousness and justice” which always include both spiritual and material aspects "Genesis 18:17-19". As Christians, we should desire all of God’s blessing—both spiritual and material—with our whole hearts.
Our goal in receiving God’s blessing should be for the purpose of preserving the spiritual and physical lives of those we encounter through acts of “righteousness and justice” "Genesis 18:19" God does not bless exclusively for our own personal prosperity.
Blessing others is what it means to be “blessed.” I can tell you that so many of you here have blessed me, either by your posts, or your comments, or just your kindness towards others and myself. I am so Thankful to be Blessed, and to be blessed by you!!
14 comments:
Right back at ya, my friend!
Great post today, Sharon...I'm so glad to be God's child and blessed!
Wonderful message!
Our Lord has blessed us to be a blessing to each other unto His glory.
Love you much
Awesome post! I love this. My mom and I were talking today about blessings and curses, based on generations that have come before us. I like how you addressed the material and spiritual blessings. In my heart I know that if God chooses to bless me with material wealth I will be acountable to Him, on how I use that. I would want to bless others with it! I have a giving heart and don't have the financial resources to give much right now. So that is difficult for me.
Thanks for this post!
Love you,
Nicole
God blesses us so we can be a blessing- thanks for the reminder and thanks for your visit and words of encouraging words. I too was led to write about Joseph- I will post it on Friday as Giving thanks -Part 2 please stop by if you have time. Be blessed and thanks for blessing me with your friendship.
Willnette
may you be continually blessed, sharon! i enjoyed reading it..
btw, got an email addy?
Ditto to you, sweet lady!
Have a blessed day today!
In Christ,
Amy:)
Wonderful message! Our God blesses us beyond our imagination! I am so blessed to be called His child!
I'm sure it is pretty crowded there this weekend! Go Cardinals! I had to put that plug in there! Try to enjoy a quiet weekend.
Great post girl...and thank you for the blessing. I will gladly take it.
And having been blessed by you...I will now have a little extra to pass along.
Thanks for coming by....I am always touched by your comments. :)
Have a restful weekend.
And I will join with Michelle in voting for the cardinals....but only because their mascot is my favorite bird. ;)
I love what this spoke to my heart today Sharon. I have been reading Joseph this last week and praying about how I can be a blessing to others.
You are a great blessing to me too. Your comments are always so uplifting. Thank you my friend.
Have a great weekend!
I often ask for material blessings for others. As for me I am finding out that my lack of material blessings means that someone else was blessed and that is a nice feeling. Great post.
What truth is spoken here! We do need to take what He's given to us and use it to bless others. It reminds me of the parable of the talents. We cannot just bury them, we must turn them into more for God!
Sonya
Just stopping by to say hi Sharon!
((Hugs))
Thanks for the Blessings that you are daily... God is faithful to bless us even when we whine about the small things in life.
Blessed to be a blessing should be the mantra of our lives.
Thanks Friend!!!
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