Bless You!
I thought I might spend some time in these next several posts reflecting on a prominent but somewhat elusive biblical word - blessed. From Genesis to Revelation, we find the word blessed throughout the pages of our Bibles. And yet, it’s a word that often rings hollow in much of our present-day usage. We bless our food before we eat, bless those who sneeze, and we say, “bless your heart” to those who, for whatever reason, we feel sorry for.
But the use of the word blessed carries a much deeper and significant meaning in scripture. It is a holistic word encompassing every aspect of a person’s life. Fulfilled may be the English word that best expresses what it means to be blessed. It speaks of a deep contentment and lasting satisfaction found in the lives of those who seek God’s will and ways in their lives.
With this in mind, I want to focus on two passages of scripture that provide insight into how you and I experience blessed lives - Psalm 1 and Matthew 5:1-12. Psalm 1 serves as the introduction to the 150 songs which make up the Hebrew Hymnal in our Bibles. Matthew 5:1-12, known as the Beatitudes or Blessings, introduce the greatest sermon Jesus ever preached - The Sermon on the Mount.
I’ll begin today with some reflections on Psalm 1.
Interesting enough, Psalm 1 begins by describing those things we need to avoid if we want to experience fulfillment in our lives -
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. (Psalm 1:1, NIV, Italics mine.)
Notice the words in italics - walk, stand, sit. They reflect a progressive descent into godless living. Once we have taken our seat in the company of mockers, we have become cynical and bitter, scoffing at all things holy and good.
Those seeking to avoid this pathway to nihilism and emptiness choose to delight themselves in “the law of the Lord,” and they meditate upon that law day and night.
I need to say a word about the “law of the Lord.” We shouldn’t understand this phrase as referring to rules and regulations, a Ten Commandment list of dos and don’ts. In light of the New Testament, the “law of the Lord” is seen and fulfilled in the “Word of God,” who is Jesus.
As we reflect upon scripture in the light of Jesus, we experience the blessed life or what Jesus himself referred to as “fulness of life.” Psalm 1:3 paints a picture of this life as that of a well-watered tree whose leaves never wither and that produces the fruit it was created to yield.
And in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provides us with the character and lifestyles of those whose roots grow deep, whose branches stretch out wide, and who yield abundant fruit for God’s kingdom.
We will be examining those qualities in our next several posts.
In Christ,
Dan
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