Receiving the Blessing

Luke 3:21-22

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, You are my dearly loved son, and you bring me great joy. One of the most fascinating and helpful questions ever asked me was from my mentor years ago, The question was, who do you give the power to bless you? He also asked it another way. Who has the power to tell you what you are worth?

Who do you give the power to determine how you feel about yourself? Wow. When he asked, I immediately thought of a couple of people whose opinion of me mattered more than those of others. I was aware of a person who, with a word of praise, could put me on top of the world. But that same person could also, with a word of criticism, crush me. So there are two takeaways for me. from my teacher's insightful question. The first is that some people, not many, usually a very few, can bless you. But those same folks can, to use biblical language, curse you. The second takeaway is that I and we give that power to that person or persons. And that means that as we are now adults, we can decide to not give them that authority any longer. So give the power to those who bless and withdraw the power from those who curse.

Across my lifetime, I have seen many people, and you have too, who have never felt blessed. And it shows. Their resentment, anger, criticism of others, and generally negative way of looking at life betrays the absence of the blessing.

Now let's look at the baptism of Jesus. this was the occasion of God's blessing of him for his ministry I love the words God speaks to him you are my dearly loved son and you bring me great joy, the wonderful spiritual guide Henry Nouwen says. You, I, we, are beloved sons and daughters of God. Let that soak into you. You, I, we, are the beloved daughters and sons of God. Can you hear those words spoken to you and for you?

Prayer:

Dear God, it humbles me to know that I bring you joy. Let me know it and trust it. And let me be a person who blesses others because you have blessed me. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler.

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