Day 13: Bless

Bless.  This word has a number of uses in our everyday lives.  From “Bless you!” when someone sneezes, to blessings we place on others when sending them off.  We say we are blessed when we have food and shelter, and count our blessings when we are focusing on giving thanks for what we have.

But there is a spiritual component to this word.  Blessings are more than meeting our physical needs.  To be blessed is more than happiness and joy.  My bible defines blessed, as “more than a temporal feeling of happiness, this is a state of well-being in relationship to God.”

In Bible study last night we took a look at the beatitudes.  We were caught by the phrase “poor in spirit,” and talked about how it seemed to be referring to those who recognized their need for relationship with God.  In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  This seems a little strange.  How can someone who is neglecting his or her relationship with God be blessed, that is, in a state of well-being in relationship with God?  It seems a little paradoxical.

I think that defining ‘blessed’ as a product of a relationship with God is a wonderful way to encapsulate all of the happiness, joy, peace, and comfort that is ascribed to this state of being.  This picture below is from a church in Costa Rica.  I love how as your eyes move from the base of the cross heavenward, the cross seems to disappear into the sky, as if Jesus has already ascended to God, taking us on earth along too.  Jesus is our intercessor to God.  Through Jesus we are able to have relationship with God, by Jesus we are blessed.