Are You a Blessing?

 

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:1-9 ESV).

 

I have noticed there is a tendency for many people to reference the good things that happen in their lives as a “blessing.” As you scroll through social media you can see this trend. People post good things about themselves and tagged them with “#blessed.” Being a bit curious I did a search of “#blessed” and got 140 million results. Everything from pictures of people holding babies, to nice cars and beaches. And about 100 million selfies!

 

There is nothing wrong with this. We do tend to think of being blessed in terms of material blessings. But that’s not what Jesus teaches. In fact, part of being a witness of Jesus is to bring his blessing of God’s love and good news wherever we go. This is our mission.

 

We see this clearly in our reading from Luke, chapter 10. Jesus sent 72 of his followers to bring the good news of God’s kingdom to the people in nearby towns and villages. And when they entered people’s homes and communities, they were to declare peace on them and say, “The kingdom of God has come near to you. The Savior has come! Salvation and hope are here!”

 

These blessings are still what God offers us and the world today. And like those 72 followers, we are called to bring peace and to announce the good news wherever we go. May Jesus equip us with his Spirit to be his faithful witnesses, sharing his blessings with the people we meet today. Are you being a blessing today?