Blessedness Beyond Success and Happiness

UV 1599/10000 Blessedness Beyond Success and Happiness
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
I Peter 1 v 3

The English word “blessed” can be traced to the root of blood. To be blessed it requires the shedding of blood or sacrifice that once again makes us acceptable, good and perfect in God’s sight. We can make our lives blessed or messed. The presence of God in our lives, our equation with Him as Father by linking our hearts with His Son Jesus, our continual fellowship with the Holy Spirit who is God on earth make us blessed. There is no greater goal, no greater success than to be blessed. To be blessed means one is first a recipient of mercy and then a vessel filled with living hope. Death being the curse that we brought on ourselves by sin is broken by the death and resurrection of Jesus from a sinner’s death – that curse is broken. It cannot hold us prisoner any longer. It cannot hold us in the constant thraldom of fear. Once we receive mercy and grace, we are sanctified and ready to worship God as the Blessed One, the source of all true blessings.

The blessedness of God is eternal. His is the greatness, the power, the victory, the majesty and the glory. This becomes our inheritance when we believe in Jesus as we become brothers with Him by faith and are co-inheritors or co-heirs of the blessedness and glory of God. Jesus is the key of David that gives us access to an eternal realm beyond mere transient success and happiness in this world. The abundant mercy of God is triggered by people calling to Him in faith in the name of Jesus. Jesus is the channel of providing access to the mercy as well as the hope of glory of God. When we declare God to be blessed, we are proclaiming Him as the author of goodness in our lives. It is amazing that mortal and sinful man is given the privilege of blessing God. Believing God is saying that He exists. Blessing God is affirming Him for His essential goodness and His specific goodness to us. It is a spiritual and deeply personal acknowledgement of the Lord.

Christ in us is the hope of glory or unimaginable greatness. Hope in Christ and the hope of eternal life is an anchor in the storms and challenges of our everyday lives. It is our experience of the abundance of God’s mercy and the riches of God’s grace that engenders hope. That hope fills us with both patience to wait with a positive, grateful, praising attitude for God to bless us and manifest His glory in our lives. That hope also fills us with joy and strength.
Prateep V Philip