What a Blessing? (January 8, 2002)

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As visitors and fellow missionaries view our hospital building, surrounding property and structures, they frequently remark, “God is blessing!”

Certainly, God is blessing, for He has promised to work all things for the good of those who love Him. But do we measure that blessing by the wrong standard? When my car breaks down, the roof leaks, the bridge washes out, my mother is diagnosed with cancer; is God blessing? Who would respond to these things with “What a blessing!”?

Well certainly God is blessing Bill Gates! He blessed Bill Clinton! What a “blessing” (?) it is so be counted among the richest or most powerful in the world. Wouldn’t we say that a religious leader who represents our point of view, has gained world attention, is rallying countless people to his cause, but in the process is also being persecuted, is being blessed of God? How about Osama bin Laden?

We measure blessing based on the externals, the visible, and often misconstrue human success as “God’s blessing”. Even as I fill out my ministry report for my mission, I must use externals to demonstrate “God’s blessing” to justify my work and ministry as a missionary. God has created within man the capacity to create. Man can, and does, create some pretty spectacular things! Most are monuments to himself, and not a measure of the “blessing” of God.

How does God measure blessing and success? He has commanded us to make disciples. He wants them to bear fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. He wants them to have transformed lives that reflect His likeness.

God is blessing, I have no doubts. He is blessing in ways that are not quite so obvious to us. In all honesty, I have not yet seen His blessing visibly to any great degree through our ministry in regards to making disciples (although “numbers” are also human externals). I trust that we are laying the foundation for the future. And even if we never see “results”, if we have personally been obedient to God, never accomplishing anything worthy of reporting to our mission or our supporters other than saying, “We did what we believe God called us to do!” we would indeed be “blessed of God.” For having the opportunity to follow Jesus Christ is truly the greatest blessing I can think of.

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