Living a Life of Blessing

The old prophet Simeon blessed the Christ child in the temple saying, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel” (Lk. 2:34). He was right. When Jesus came, he was not only dedicated as a child by his parents in the temple, but he was also blessed by prophetic hands. He would live in the blessing. This was no chance encounter, it was divinely orchestrated. The Bible says Simeon “was righteous and devout” and he looked “forward to the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:35). The scriptures declare, “The Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:25-26). He did not casually amble into the temple, “He came by the Spirit into the temple.” There, he encountered Joseph and Mary who “brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law” – the dedication and consecration of their first-born child. Simeon took Jesus, the infant, in his own arms, “and blessed God,” and then he said,

“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples: a light for revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

Joseph and Mary “were amazed at the things which were being said about him” (Luke 2:33). Simeon then “blessed them and said to His mother Mary, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed – and a sword will pierce your own soul…’” (Luke 2:34-35). Indeed.

Also, in the temple that day was “a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years,” actually, she was 84. She had been married for seven years, but her husband died, and she had continued to live as a widow. She gave herself to ministry and “did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasting and prayers” (Luke 2:36-37). As Simeon was blessing Jesus, the Christ child, and his parents, “at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak about him [Jesus] to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” These two encounters were no coincidence. They demonstrated God’s divine orchestration of the life of Christ. That confirmed that he was blessed to be a blessing. Through him, the full impact of God’s goodness would be seen.

Here is the good news. He also orders our steps (Psalm 37:23; 119:133). From the time you were conceived, God has had his hand on your life, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psa. 139:13-14). The psalmist added, “I know that full well.” But do you? Do you know that God’s hand is upon you?

What are the odds that Simeon would be in the temple at the time Jesus was being consecrated and that Anna would intersect with them simultaneously? God orders our steps (Psa. 37:23; Proverbs 16:9). You will have similar moments that you know cannot be a coincidence, when God thrust someone in your path that needs a word of blessing. Returning to Nazareth, Joseph and Mary watched as “the Child continued to grow and to become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40). The blessing of God was on his life.

Blessed, Jesus’ ministry was one of blessing. He blessed adults and children, Jews and Gentiles, soldiers and tax collectors. He healed the blind and the lame, set captives free by deliverance. And when he left the earth, the last thing he did was to lift his hands in a priestly manner and pronounce a blessing! In fact, he was taken up into heaven, blessing! Perhaps, he is still blessing, from heaven. His ministry is framed with this desire of God to bless humanity.

Even in the Revelation, the blessing continues. As the anti-Christ rises, the false prophet speaks lies, and the dragon rages – we find seven blessings from the early chapters of the Revelation to the latter chapters. God’s blessings never stop.

• In Revelation 1:3, there is a blessing for simply reading the book of Revelation, hearing its words and keeping its contents in our hearts knowing the time of the end is near.
• In Revelation 14:13, a voice from heaven pronounces a blessing on those “die in the Lord from now on!” From a certain point on the eschatological continuum. They will “rest from their labors.”
• In Revelation 16:15, there is a blessing for the one “who stays awake” and retrains his holiness at the time of the coming of the Lord. .
• In Revelation 19:9, there is a blessing for those “who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
• In Revelation 20:6, there is a blessing for the “one who has a part in the first resurrection.” The “second death has no power” over them, and “they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” Quite a blessing.
• In Revelation 22:7, there is a blessing for “the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book,” the Revelation. No other book offers such a blessing.
• In Revelation 22:14, we have the final blessing for “those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates.” We are back in Eden at the tree of life. No longer a garden, Eden has become a city.

The blessing of God settles on godly people during the earth’s greatest time of judgment and woe. His blessing overrides the dark shadow cast by Satan’s final hour on the stage of time. Nothing can stop God’s blessing.

J. Gerald Janzen declared that “the divinely intended governing principle is the power of blessing.”16 That’s quite an assertion. As we have noted earlier, Janzen says, Genesis 1 and 2 shows the world and humans in it, as living in “a place of blessing and fruitfulness.” The garden is “a picture of the total blessedness of creation.” The redemptive process, he asserts, “is the counteract the workings of evil in the world and to restore the world to it divinely intended blessedness.”17 In Abraham, God picks up the theme of blessing, which was articulated to Adam, and offered again through Noah. Abraham took the offer seriously.

The redemption of humanity gets a fresh start with God’s covenant with Abraham. It is “a journey in blessing from a single person to all the families of the earth.”18 From a man with a barren wife, to son and grandson, and great grandfather to a dozen sons of Jacob, the blessing spread. The goal was the creation of a community, a family, “called to serve the well-being of all human communities, by becoming the kind of community they would all like to become” (cf. Dt. 4:5-8).

Blessing is well-being or to use the Biblical word – shalom (peace). That’s more than the absence of conflict. That’s a sense of wholeness, health, and yes, of holiness. It is a place of inner congruence made possible because one has, by grace, make peace with very nature of God. Today, Jews greet one another with the word shalom. “Seek peace and pursue it” (Ps. 34:14) is urged on them by scripture. From the chaos that streams from the sin in the garden, from which man was expelled, redemption is a journey to recover paradise, to restore peace.

Christians too, should be people who bless – who greet one another, and others with the invitation to know the peace of God, to be reconciled to God. Israel’s Biblical capital, Jerusalem, has embedded in its name – peace. It is the fortress (Jebus) of peace (Salem: shalom). We call people, the Bible declares, to the Jerusalem above (Gal. 4:6) where they can find freedom and know the peace of God.

Jesus is now the ‘prince of peace’ (Isa. 9:6) in the heavenly Jerusalem. At his birth, the angels declared, “Peace on earth, good will to men” (Lk. 2:14). This was his purpose in coming – peace. To bring heaven to earth. He called his followers, that’s you and me, to be peacemakers (Mt. 5:9). Among his last words to his disciples were these, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn. 14:27). The biblical vision is for a reconciled world in which, “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other” (Ps. 85:10). He spoke with grace. He spoke blessings over the lives of people. Have you ever spoken a blessing over someone?

Blessing others is more than saying a set of words, but that is a part of what God is calling us to do. This may be a bit over-the-top for you, but God wants you to prophecy. According to Paul, that means that you speak words of comfort, or edification to build up and encourage another person. And words of exhortation are spoken to urge another person onward, to incite action, or to appeal to them. And this is done by you as you yield to the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 14:2). It is His message to a friend; you deliver the mail. God wants to talk to people. He wants to bless them. He needs someone to be His voice. God also calls us to live lives of blessing. Blessing is a matter of being, and doing, not merely a set of sounds. That means that the blessing God must reorder our lives in order for us to more authentically pass on the blessing of God.

Isaiah 50:4 expresses God’s desire. “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He awakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.” Indeed. This is why morning prayer is not an option but a necessity. It prepares you for your day. God knows the steps you will take, the people you will meet, the needs they will have, and His desire is to load you up, to be and speak His blessing of others.