Skip to main content

Jesus' way of Blessing

"In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight. " Luke 7:21

When John the Baptist sent his disciples to confirm if Jesus indeed was the expected Messiah, they come to Jesus to ask and at that moment, they saw Jesus healing people from all kinds of infirmities and bondage. Jesus blessed these people unconditionally. Whenever He saw people with infirmities and bondage, He was moved with compassion to heal them and deliver them. No strings were attached for receiving this blessing from Jesus. The above verse indicates that the blessing Jesus gave was free, gracious and something that gave joy.

This made me think about what is going on in the world. Most of the times, it is a transaction - you give and then you will be blessed. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of heavenly lights (James 1:17). The word "Gift" itself indicates that it is free and not earned by the receiver of the gift.

As people who are blessed by God to be blessing to others, lets imitate our Father by being generous in blessing others. In summary, God's way of blessing is -
  • Free
  • Unconditional
  • Generous
Questions to Ponder:
  1. What is your understanding of God's blessings - is it a transaction or unconditional?
  2. Can you list down some of the blessings you have received freely?
  3. Think of some practical ways of being generous in blessing others.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Lord is my Light and the Rock of salvation

Read Pslams 27:1 - 3 1 THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation--whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, [even then] in this will I be confident. In this Psalm, the author sings with confidence "The Lord is my light and the rock of my salvation. Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear". Important fact to note is the confidence with which he sings. Many times, we go through our days without confidence and peace that we observe in the psalmist. The author goes to the extent of declaring that he will not be afraid even if an enemy encamps around him or a war comes up. There is a promise in the Bible, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayers and thanksgiving submit your requests to God and the

Joy in the midst of Nazi Concentration camps

The well known survivor of Nazi concentration camps by God's grace, Corrie Ten Boom writes in her book titled, " A Prisoner and yet... " While being imprisoned at Vught prison camp by Nazis, the women of Harlem (A town in Holland from where Corrie Ten Boom hails from) used to sing the following song under their pressing conditions: " We never let our courage fall, We hold our heads up high. They never, never will prevail, No matter how they try. Onward we press, our word is 'yes', Heads up, you women of Vught, heads up. " Their faith in the living God is the source of their confidence to sing the above song under such a horrible in-human treatment by Nazis. What an assurance of peace it is to know that the Joy of the Lord is indeed our strength as we go through the pressures of life and fight against the principalities of this dark world. It is in such circumstances as these that the character of christ is formed in us. Unless the seed dies, it canno

Question of willingness

When Jesus encountered a man full of leprosy, very interesting conversation happened. Here it is: "While He was in one of the towns, there came a man full of (covered with) leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cure me and make me clean. And [Jesus] reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed! And immediately the leprosy left him." Luke 5:12,13 As I was contemplating on these 2 verses, tears welled up in my eyes. Here was a man full of leprosy, a social outcast, who is not allowed to move freely among the society. His words spoke volumes about his faith in Jesus, but humble enough to seek confirmation about Jesus willingness to heal him. In other words, we can infer that none of the people around this man are willing in his well being. He was kind of helpless. Jesus response and actions were equally surprising - He reached out His hand - This action of Jesus signifie