Week 7 Monday

The Blessing

Today’s scripture selection: Genesis 24-27

Key verse: Genesis 27:28

 

    “May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness —             an abundance of grain and new wine.”

 

One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that it doesn’t “sugarcoat” its saints.  What I mean is, they are real – they have wonderful God given abilities, great faith, and they accomplish much for the work of God’s kingdom.  At the same time – they are human – with all the weaknesses and faults of human nature.  So sometimes they do some awful things.  They lie, cheat, fall away from the faith, and even kill for what they want.  But the great thing about the Bible saga is that it records over and over again how God forgives and redeems His children – despite all their failings.

Two such saints were Isaac and his wife Rebekah.  They had two sons – remember them?  They were Esau and Jacob.  Now, these two boys couldn’t have been more different from one another.  And, like all young men, they had hopes and dreams.

So one day, when it was time, the older son – Esau- hopes and expects to get his father’s blessing before his father dies.  It turns out though, as the story goes, that through a bit of poor judgment and some trickery – Esau loses the opportunity to get that blessing.  His younger brother Jacob gets it instead.

Now, to fully understand all the ramifications of this – you’ll have to read the full story yourself.  But today, let me leave you with this thought…

Blessings are important and sacred things.  They shouldn’t be something we try and steal; they shouldn’t be tools in our hands to get what we want.  They should be as they are intended to be – a sacred gift given from one generation to the next.

And we can do that.  We can “bless” one another in many ways, every day.  It’s as if we are small conduits, funneling God’s desires and wishes for a joyful, full life to others.

So take the opportunity to bless seriously.  It’s so much more than wishing someone well; or making a polite response to someone’s sneeze.  It’s a chance to pass a little bit of God’s grace onto others – every single day.

 

Prayer:  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace and blessing wherever you send me.  AMEN.

 

    

AMEN.