ever since my first trip overseas, my first experience of a less that "first world" nation (Romania circa 2003), i have inwardly scoffed at the prayer, "God bless ________" if the blank was filled with anyone who lived in the U.S. or any other generally privileged nation. my mental response was, "He already has."
my response has been in light of my definition of "bless", which has been "give good things to."
that was until yesterday. i did a word study on the Greek word we translate to "bless" or "blessed" in the Bible, and my mind was blown. thinking about it again this morning, the implications of this actual definition occurred to me...and amazed me....
"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." -John 13:17
#3107--Makarios--blessed. possessing the characteristic of deity... the state of the believer in Christ. He is indwelt by God because of Christ and as a result is fully satisfied.
(makarios ≠ happy, because happy is the person who has good luck*)
A blessed person is one whom God makes fully satisfied, not because of favourable circumstances, but because He indwells the believer through Christ.
To be makarios, blessed, is equivalent to having God's kingdom
within one's heart.
Makarios is one who is in the world yet independent of the world; his satisfaction comes from God and not from favourable circumstances.
(the contrast is endeēs-"the needy one")
Makarizō, to pronounce blessed, is used only of the
Virgin Mary
and the persecuted prophets.
"For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed." -Luke 1:48
blessed: makarizō vs. eulogeō (to speak well of)
"When we bless (eulogeō) God we are speaking well of Him which is equal to praising or thanking Him. When, however, we ask God to bless us or speak well of us, we are asking Him not merely to approve our plans but to interfere in our lives.
God's words are God's actions.
*happiness has Absolutely Nothing to do with makariotēs, "blessedness," an inner quality granted by God. The word "happiness"..."lucky," never occurs in the New Testament.
The Lord never promised happiness, good luck, or favourable circumstances to the believer, but makariotēs, "blessedness."
This means His indwelling and the consequent peace and satisfaction to the believer no matter what the circumstances may be."
...consider now the gravity of praying, "God bless _______."
be it for you, your mother, your best friend, your worst enemy, your leaders, those you lead....
we can now translate that simple and often nonchalant prayer to,
"God, fill with all of your fullness, indwell, interfere with the path of, satisfy, bring peace and wholeness to ___________, regardless of all circumstances and situations, of fullness or depravity offered by people or economies, of happiness or pain."
the fact that i can pray that for someone, for myself even, and that God answers that prayer...
that astounds me.
and i am more than happy to pray that kind of blessing for any person in any nation, because we all need more of that kind of blessedness.
excerpts and quotations from the Keyword Study Bible by AMG Publishers.
this publishing of the Bible is freakin' amazing.
it has enriched my understanding of the Word
(spoken, written, and in Flesh) indescribably.
get one. disregard monetary cost, all other gain will make up for it.
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