WELL AND TRULY BLESSED

Genesis 26:17-27:46; Matthew 9:1-17; Psalm 10:16-18; Proverbs 3:9-10

“From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine.
 May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you.  May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.  All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.”

“Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?  So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.”  Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home!

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.
  Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.”

I stand convicted of thinking too much about what I don’t have and worrying too much about what I can’t control.  Worse, when my focus turns inward, I cannot receive what the Lord would give.  God only knows – literally – how many blessings have fallen wasted on the barren ground of my unreceptive soul.  Time to quit whining and get up and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit!

It is time, in other words, to claim what it means to be blessed.  Especially in adversity.  Trite only because it is so true, the joyful person is one who persistently seeks out God’s blessings in every circumstance.  They are all around, leading us back to Him at every turn!  From the simplicity of a smile to the complexity of the very universe, we are surrounded by grace.  We live, we cry, we laugh, we touch, we succeed and fail, we learn and grow, we die, and we go Home.  Life is actually a pretty wonderful gig, with love to be found in every bit of it, somewhere, if we will just train ourselves to look outside ourselves.  After all, the Spirit is right there with us in every bit of it, and He is love.  Finally, Love is the ultimate victor because Love is the ultimate power.  All that remains is to accept and share the blessing.

But who among us can really get our mind around the raw power of Christ’s love?  Jesus offers us forgiveness and freedom, yet we cling to our old friends guilt and timidity like a paralytic to his mat.  So Jesus goes to a paralytic and proves the power of Love: the paralyzed walk!  And even jump! 

Here’s an idea: let’s all start leaping up to accept God’s blessings!  They are legion, for those with eyes to see.   (Visions of Donkey in Shrek – “Pick me! Pick me!” – are entirely appropriate here….)