What does it mean to be blessed?
Jesus tells a story of a son who left home, taking his inheritance with him–before his father died. He ended up squandering all the money and disgracing his family.
When the son finally came to his senses, Jesus said, he went home, his head hanging in shame. But as he walked toward his father’s house, there was his father, running toward him. Before he could finish his I-know-I’m-no-longer-worthy-to-be-your-son speech, his father threw himself on his son, kissing him.
Then the father reinstated his son’s position of authority by stripping off his old, torn, foul-smelling clothes. He placed his best robe on him, gave him a signet ring of legal authority, and outfitted him with the shoes of a free man who belonged in the house. And the father hosted a joyful dinner party with music and dancing.
The Prodigal Son: A Picture of a Blessing
This is the picture of a blessing, and Jesus calls us to be like the father who welcomed his son home and authorized him to prosper. When we bless someone, we are, in effect, authorizing God to bestow favor. We are inviting people home to their heavenly father, where they belong and are loved.
It’s this kind of unconditional love that forms the basis for blessings. It’s not about blessing someone to gain appreciation or to impress other people. It’s about love that is fearless, authentic, and exposed. Jesus loved and blessed people, no matter what it cost him.
Blessing is about love that is fearless, authentic, and exposed.
Jesus showed us that the way to an abundant life isn’t about taking and keeping. A blessed life is about bold, generous giving that’s rooted neither in advancing nor protecting the giver. A blessed life comes out of love.
And people are longing for a real blessing.
We Need to Be Blessed
In this often selfish, sarcastic, and critical world, finding genuine affirmation of being favored, loved, and valued is difficult, even in families. Additionally, children who grow up without being blessed by their parents will probably fail to bless their own children as the cycle of unblessing continues generation after generation.
While blessing was a normal part of ancient family life, it has largely been lost to our mainstream culture. Throughout the Bible, we read of children and adults being regularly blessed through words and the laying on of hands. It was such a part of the culture of Jesus’ day that parents brought their children to him for his touch and his blessing.
The Power of a Blessing
There is a power in blessing that goes beyond a proclamation of love. Words of blessing, imparted with a meaningful and appropriate touch, are vital to knowing you are valued. While you can certainly pray a blessing over someone at a distance, and sometimes that’s your only choice, there is nothing like hearing a blessing prayed over you, a blessing of promise and hope.
You may feel awkward at first. You may have never prayed aloud before. But the Bible gives us plenty of examples that you can use to pray for and over someone, and I’ve listed my top ten blessings here.
Perhaps the best example of such a blessing is what’s called the Priestly Blessing, which was given by God to Moses for the priests to pray over the people (Numbers 6:24-26):
May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you
and give you peace.
How to Bless
You can make a blessing as informal as spontaneously touching someone’s shoulder and speaking words of blessing. You can make it as regular as a part of a bedtime routine.
You can pray words of blessing over your family as you hold hands before or after dinner. You can take turns sitting in a chair as someone lays on hands and recites a blessing for that person—and don’t forget to allow your children to give blessings as well as receive them!
You can pray blessings during celebratory times, such as birthdays, holidays, and significant events, like going to kindergarten or starting a new job. What matters is that you are speaking blessings as part of your lifestyle, no matter what time and place you choose.
And it’s never too early to start—for babies, you can sing the blessing as you hold them next to your heart.
A written blessing is also powerful since the recipient can read it over and over. How many of us carry a note of affirmation written to us? I still possess encouraging notes from my college professors as well as thankful notes from my students. My grandmother wrote notes of encouragement to my mother and hid them in places she would find them, such as in her Bible, behind the mixer, or in her jewelry box. Written blessings don’t have to be long and involved, but they might describe how you value that person, the hope you have for them, or God’s promises for them.
We Are God’s Beloved
At his baptism, Jesus heard his Father’s blessing: “You are my beloved Son.” We, too, need to hear that blessing from one another. We are God’s beloved. That message needs to be proclaimed joyfully and intentionally.
It is a message that reminds us who we are and whose we are. In a world full of confusing and demeaning voices that cry, “You are not enough, you are only what you can achieve, you are only what you have, you are a disappointment,” we need to hear, “You are my beloved.”
As we bless in Jesus’ name, we powerfully communicate the passionate love of God and also reveal the beauty of Christ in us and others. We build the value and worth of those we bless, and, at the same time, we come to better know our own value and worth before God.
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