Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV) 1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Matthew 5:1-3 (NIV) 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Biblical word for having it all is the word blessed. This is the word repeated in God’s covenant promise to Abraham. The blessings of the covenant included deliverance from enemies, land, prosperity, many descendents, security, success in all of life’s endeavors, and peace. The blessings of the covenant were the outward and visible signs of someone who was favored by God.
We are called to remember that being blessed, at its heart, is being chosen by God, loved, favored, graced, accepted and assured of His ongoing presence with us rather than what we presently possess or do not possess. The blessing offered in the covenant was more than material possession or the truth of being loved; what was offered was the very life of God Himself. To be blessed was to receive the life of God offered to men and women, to boys and girls in the person of Jesus Christ.
If God abides in us and we in Him, indeed we have it all. We may not have realized all the gifts He offers us in life, but the promise, the possibility is there. Granted, you and I may not always feel blessed, nor act very blessed. But, if the gift has been received the promise is there to be aware, to live in the confidence that the gift of His life gives.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” To be poor in spirit is to be aware of our need, it is to know we lack something we need, to know we are broken. Blessed are those whose self-determined wills have been broken, then they shall have it all. They shall receive the gift, and they shall be blessed. This is the life of God offered to those who are bankrupt of the blessing. This life is offered to those ready to receive it in faith and in confidence. We can be a people who have it all.
And this is how we shall know we have it all: “you shall be a blessing.” In us and through us, others shall be blessed because we are blessed with the life of God, and so share with others.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 5, 1986
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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