The Blessings of God

The Blessings of God
Romans 10.11-12
As the Scripture says , “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Every Sunday morning our church's pastor and choir director have gotten into the habit of asking the congregation--”How has God blessed you today?” That's a question we don't ask enough, but it is vital to the Christian life. God's Word not only says that blessings are a bonus for God's people—they are guaranteed. Romans 10 tells us that if we “call on Jesus,” then the Lord will “richly bless [us].” There's a certain beauty in that, for one would think it would be the other way around. Usually when someone is giver, he expects the receiver to give something in return. Jesus essentially says, “Because you have received My salvation, I'm going to bless you.” Wow! What an incredible God! What incredible gifts are in store for us simply because we have accepted Christ into our hearts.

What are some of the blessings of the Lord? Sadly, we miss many of them, so man is very inept at proclaiming many of the richest blessings of life. Take, for instance, the beauty of nature. That sure is a blessing, isn't it? God blesses us everyday with the beauty of nature. Sadly, we often turn a blessing to our own curse. We say, “Oh, I wish this bothersome rain would stop!” We even go so far to say “It looks nasty out there today.” When we say such things, even if they are unintentional, it is possible that we are implying that God's blessing is not good enough for us. I can tell you that I witnessed some of the most beautiful scenery looking out into the valley on our farm yesterday. A steady rain dripped into the valley, causing a stream to roll downhill into a lake. The sky was overcast, creating the perfect effect of a soothing, relaxing amplification of the scenery that you just can't get with direct light. My point is that this is a blessing!

Look out for the blessings of God; they are everywhere in your life. Blessings are like little martians that have landed upon Earth: they are invading your life everyday, even as we speak. God blesses us every day in nearly every way. Sometimes it can be as complex as the divine comfort of God when an issue is pressing hard upon us, or it can be as simple as a smile from a fellow brother or sister in Christ. If you keep your heart and eyes and mind open, you'll discover God's blessings everyday. It is such a wonderful thing that, even though we have Christ and eternal life already, Jesus keeps on giving us that eternal life even today! That is why the Scripture says that “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17.21). In God's Kingdom, the richness of God is radiated to His children because He loves us. We are already receiving little glimpses of heaven each day with the blessings of God, regardless of the size.

I hope you will look carefully for God's blessings in your life today. If you need help doing so, pray that Christ will help you to see His blessings. As Christians we are guaranteed that God will bless us, for we have “[called] on the name of the Lord” and we “[have been] saved” from an eternity of separation and isolation from our Creator and Father. The blessings of God are reassurances of his love for us, like spiritual kisses from the lips of a lover. Amen.

With love in Christ,


Austin Aldrich