REFLECTIONS
November 22, 2009
 
 
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Psalm 118:26
 
To Be A Blessing
 
Among the greatest blessings in my life have been the people who have passed through it. Beyond the blessings of having Godly parents and loving Christian grandparents, many others have blessed my life over the years. Some were friends of my parents, some have been friends of my own, and some have been people who have blessed me along the way without personally knowing them at all.
One person that has been a blessing is my friend Bonnie. I will always remember the time I asked her if she had ever written a personal mission statement. Without hesitation she answered, “To be a blessing.” I was struck by the quickness of her response, the certainty she had about it, and the strong commitment her tone of voice told me she had made to it. Years have passed since we had the discussion, but as I reflect now on her reply I realize the depth of the commitment she was making.
Her mission statement defined her calling. It was a calling that described what she was to do and suggested what she must do to achieve it. To be a blessing, priorities cannot be self serving. To be a blessing requires personal sacrifice. Jesus described it as loving your neighbor as yourself. He also explained that, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Such is the commitment Bonnie has made to the people around her.
But Bonnie’s mission also makes a commitment to God. In this world, we are incapable of being a blessing without God’s hand working through us. To be a blessing we must submit our lives to Him, and allow Him to work through us for his purpose.
To be a blessing requires a life of submission. That’s what Bonnie committed to do. And I believe that is the reason she has been a blessing in my life and the lives of so many others. To be a blessing she allowed God’s hand to work in her life.
God calls us all to something in this life, and if we heed those calls we discover that they always have something to do with being a blessing. To be a blessing we must surrender our lives to God so He can work through us.
And when we do, we are blessed.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
RichardÌ


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