Blessed to Be a Blessing

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

1        May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face shine on us—

2        so that your ways may be known on earth,

    your salvation among all nations.

3        May the peoples praise you, God;

    may all the peoples praise you.

4        May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

    for you rule the peoples with equity

    and guide the nations of the earth.

5        May the peoples praise you, God;

    may all the peoples praise you.

6        The land yields its harvest;

    God, our God, blesses us.

7        May God bless us still,

    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him. (Psalm 67, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

The author of this psalm is unknown. While we may not know his name, we do know something unique and peculiar about him. This psalm lets us see his heart. It tells us that he was a man who had a vision of the whole world. God had blessed him, and he wanted to share that blessing with everyone.

He writes: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us…” The psalmist uses the word “us” three times in verse 1. In using this word he's referring to the Jewish people, but it doesn't stop there. He continues: “…so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations” (verse 2).

So many Old Testament Jews missed the point of their calling. They had an “us versus them” mentality. They took pride in being called God's “chosen people.” They forgot Moses's warning (Deuteronomy 7:7-11), and began to think they were special and set apart because of their own inherent uniqueness. They lost sight of all that God had said to their forefathers, and wanted to keep what they had for themselves. They did not want to share their special blessing with others. Instead, they wanted to judge and condemn others.

How unlike God's plan! After all, why did he call Abraham? So that he might be a blessing to the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3). To carry that question forward to our day, why did God send his Son to dwell among us (John 1:1-18)? Why did Jesus leave his place and glory and become “fully human in every way” (Hebrews 2:17)? Why did he humble himself and choose to live as a servant (Philippians 2:7)? Why did he submit himself to unjust human authorities and allow himself to be crucified on the cross? So that the gospel message might go out to the whole world. So that all people might be reconciled to God. So that all the peoples of the world might be blessed. And now we are recipients of God's blessings.

Why has the Lord blessed us? So that we might share the Gospel with others. We generally have no problem praying verse 1: “Oh, God, be merciful to us and bless us and make your face to shine upon us.” But what about verse 2? Do we want to be blessed so that we might be a blessing? That's the reason God blesses us in the first place (2 Corinthians 9:6-15). Likewise, he answers our prayers so that we might become an answer to someone else's prayers (2 Corinthians 1:3-11).

The result of making God's salvation known among all the nations is praise. “May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you” (verse 3). This doesn't mean just the Israelites. The Gentiles are included, too. “May the nations be glad and sing for joy” (verse 4). “May the peoples praise you, God” (verse 5).

Notice how the psalm ends: “The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him” (verses 6-7). The sequence in this psalm is significant. The psalmist begins by saying: “Lord, bless me so that I might bless others.” And then he indeed becomes a blessing to others, so God blesses him again. And, again, he expresses his desire to share God's double-blessing with the whole world. What a marvelous testimony of God's grace!

POINT TO PONDER:

Are you part of God's sequence of blessing? If you will share, he will bless you so that you may be a blessing to others. Experience the fullness of his grace by telling others about him, and by sharing his blessings with those whom you come in contact.

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and I am deeply convicted by this psalm. So often my prayers sound like verse 1: “Bless me, God.” “Bless our family, God.” “Show us your favor.” “Bless us financially.” “Give me success.” “Give me comfort, health, and ease.” Without even trying, my prayers can become all about me and my family. Me, myself, and mine. Gimme, gimme, gimme. I can so easily lose sight of all the blessings God has already lavished upon my life. I can take his favor for granted and desire more, more, more. This psalm was a divine wake-up call. The Holy Spirit smacked me upside the head and reminded me of my calling to join God in blessing the world. Through his empowerment, today I yearn to share God's goodness with “the peoples” surrounding my life.