I am Blesses

One of the first women I ordained as a church elder, in my early ministry in the City of New York, has just passed away after many years of sickness. In contemplating what I should preach at her funeral service, the text that came to mind was Revelation 14:13. It says, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (NKJV). As I thought about the death of this dear saint, what came to me was that if she had not lived a “blessed life” one could not speak of her death as “blessed.” If she had not lived to please the Lord, she could not look forward to the resurrection, when in her immortal state she would be happy all the time.

Of course, the meaning of the word, Blessed, kept haunting me, because these days I hear the word being used so tritely. I have heard a lot of people asking about the facial expressions of the dead. “Was the person smiling?”  “Was he/she a happy dead?” In other words, they are seeking to judge whether or not the dead are blessed. Other people focus on what happens in this life to declare if one is blessed.  Do they have material blessings or other physical benefits from God? But is this what Blessed really means?

Not being satisfied with the common explanations I went back to Genesis 1:27, 28 which says: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (NKJV).

This text tells that before sin and death came into the world, God Blessed the ones he created in his own image. In reading around the text, I tried to see if there were anyone word that conveyed the significance of what it means to be Blessed but was unable to find such a word. However, I gathered seven ideas that I consider most helpful, namely:

1. That God favored us – When God created humanity he gave them “special favor” that made them distinct from all creatures of the earth. He placed upon humanity his image and dignity and spirituality, an interconnection with the divine that is above all creation.
2. That God gave us great authority – God gave humanity authority, to steward, that takes care of the earth.
3. That God gave us procreative powers – God gave pro-creative capacity to humanity to people, not overpopulate the earth.
4. That God gave us nurturing and caring capacities – In the pro-creative capacity is the responsibility to nurture and care for the generations that would follow. As was said of Abraham later, so it was intended for our first parents, “Through you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18).
5. That God gave us life and well-being – Humanity was given what some have called “conditional immortality,” not a death sentence (with sickness and accidents) hanging overhead as all humanity faced after sin.
6. That God gave us relationships -The capacity for love in relationship with himself and the creatures of his creation. We experience such relationship most profoundly among humanity. All creatures of the earth who relate to humanity are to be blessed with such love.
7. That God gave us the beautiful earth – The land shares the blessing of humanity. As a home of habitation, the earth was in a beautiful state. After sin came in a curse was pronounced on the land (Genesis 3:17). But God has promised that he will recreate the earth and the blessed will inherit and reign on the earth, again (cf. Matthew 5:8; Revelation 5:10).

There is no question that the original blessing that God gave to humanity has been compromised. But it is clear that God still wants to bless us every day. And greatest of all, is that God has a future of blessing prepared for us in a recreated earth.

Let us enjoy the blessing of life while we are on this earth. Let us take note of what the Psalmist says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:14 NKJV).