So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

(Gen 1.21-23)

And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.

“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

(Num 6.22-27)

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways…. May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem, and may you live to see your children’s children..

(Ps 128.1,5&6)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good…..Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

(Rom 12.9&14)

“Bless you!” How readily those words come to our lips when someone sneezes, but what do we mean? The briefest dive into the internet to find out what ‘bless’ means will leave you rather overwhelmed, and I am certainly not equipped to undertake a detailed exploration in this blog! But, I firmly believe that since we are created in the image of God, designed to reflect his character and share his purposes, we can also share in his work of blessing.

In Genesis, the word first appears as part of an exhortation to the created order, that it might thrive and fulfill its purpose; later it will be part of God’s first announcement to Abraham of the great plan to send a redeemer through Abrahams’ descendants who will bring deliverance, healing and true prosperity to all the nations. These ‘blessings’ are rooted in God’s power and goodness – what He plans, He will carry out, and it will be for His glory and also for the true and deepest good of all who are in covenant relationship with Him. This is true throughout scripture, and wherever we read of blessing, we need to remember that it will be rooted and driven by God’s purposes of love, even when we can’t understand how they are being worked out. The greatest blessing ever given to creation, is the redeeming work of Christ Jesus – the fulfilment of that promise to Abraham – but on Good Friday, it did not look like a comfortable or easy blessing, it looked like utter defeat and failure…..

If I want to be like my Father in heaven then, I want to share in his work of blessing – of reminding others where goodness and security and hope really lie, so that they too can rest in the finished work of Christ and share in God’s work in the world. I take the words which I have, and I offer them as a channel by which God may speak His goodness, power, healing and hope into the lives of others, reminding them of the truth. This is what God was commanding the priests to do when Moses was given that beautiful blessing for Aaron to speak over the people. That short blessing is one which we can readily use in our own context, speaking God’s love, favour and saving power over his children for their encouragement and help.

Ultimately, when we live as God’s children in this world, we are called to offer life in His name to those around us, to be channels of His love in ways that help others to choose life (which is to know Jesus), and not death. So how can my words bless others in this way? How can I meet those with whom I will come into contact, in ways which will help them to live as God desires? This is what God’s blessing has always been directed towards – the ultimate rescue and transformation of a dying world to new life in his kingdom. This is what it means to be blessed – to know the life of the age to come, the divine life which is God’s love. I must speak, I have the ability to write; I choose then that those things should be a means of blessing to others – even as God’s word bears fruit for eternal life, so also may my words, and yours, bear fruit in kingdom-building life.

The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, be upon you and remain with you, now and for evermore, Amen.