From the Pulpit: Blessing for the life you have

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” – Matthew 5:5 (MSG)

I’ve been thinking about blessings a lot lately. 

In Jesus’ time, people assumed they could tell if you were blessed or cursed by looking at you. Were you healthy? Did you have money? All those things were signs of supposed blessing. And if you didn’t have those things, the assumption was that you or someone in your family brought the curse upon you. 

I used to think that was obviously an old way of looking at things. However, I don’t think our current attitude is much different. Do you have money? Must be because you are a hard worker. Are you healthy? Must be because you “took care of yourself”. Even though we know there are exceptions to that, it’s what we first assume. Somehow, if that person isn’t blessed, they did it to themselves. 

God’s blessing doesn’t work that way. 

Again and again, Jesus reminds us that the world is upside down. In his sermon in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus points out that God brings the blessing and that it isn’t just for some people. It’s for all people. Even more – blessing looks different than what the world says. It’s not a quantity you collect. It’s more like a state of being. And so, no matter where you find yourself – in the highs or lows of life – God says that your state of being is blessed. You will have the presence of God with you in every situation; giving you the tools, the strength, and the courage to face whatever it is. 

I’ve recently been following a favorite author of mine on Instagram, Kate Bowler (@katecbowler). She writes these blessings for all kinds of situations that continue to ground me in the reminder that God’s blessing is for every day, whatever it looks like and for whatever struggle or joy I encounter. 

“Blessed are you amid the ordinary details that define what life is for you, right now. And as you see them, greet them – each one – as you smile and call them by name. May gratitude fill you, reaching all of the spaces within you that disappointment left behind and fear has gripped.” 

A Blessing for the Life you Have from “Good Enough” by Kate Bowler