How Blessed Are We?

A few days ago we observed the holiday of "Thanksgiving" which obviously implies that we are thankful for all the blessings God has given u s. But this begs the question at the top of this article. "How blessed are we?" Perhaps another way of asking the above question is, How blessed do we feel? It may not actually matter how blessed we are if we do not feel as if we have been blessed. Irma Bombeck one time wrote a book titled, If Life Is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in The Pits which comically relates to how she dealt with life’s trials. The sad fact is most of us do not recognize or understand the blessings we have and continue to receive. This may be due to three reasons; our not recognizing God's grace and His blessings, our misunderstanding of how God's grace works, and the nature of blessings.

What is God's grace? Simply put it is that which we do not deserve. Jesus dying on the cross for our sins was God's grace extended to mankind. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2.8-9). None of us can say that God owes us anything. God did not send Jesus to be born of a virgin, live a life among men, be ridiculed, suffer and die on the cross, because He owed it to us. God did so because He loved mankind enough to give us better than what we deserve.

There are a lot of things most of us receive that we do not really deserve. Did I deserve two loving parents who provided for my brother, sister and I as they did? Did we deserve to be born in a prosperous country?

There are blessings we just take for granted. I can stand and walk across the floor when there are people who cannot. There are people in other countries that must decide which of their children will live or die due to poverty. I do not have to decide between my family and serving God because of the freedoms in this country. This just touches the hem of the garment but I am sure you could make a list of blessings you have received and did not deserve.

Another problem is understanding our role in receiving God's blessings. "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2.10). While God's grace has been extended to everyone, not everyone will receive it. Why? Because man must comply with God's will. While grace is free it is not cheap or unconditional. Thus grace must be met with obedience. Those who obey the Gospel are promised eternal life. Loving husbands and wives are blessed by receiving love from their spouse. Parents training up their children in the way of the Lord receive the benefits of obedient and faithful children. The list goes on. Sadly many elect not to obey God, not to love their spouse, not to train their children, and then wonder why their life stinks.

Finally, many do not realize the different nature of our blessings. Some of our blessings are temporary. The food, shelter, and clothing we receive are like that. Good health may eventually give way to disease, injury, or old age. Money invested and earned may be gone with a down turn in the economy. We should be thankful for what we have yet not place too much emphasis on the temporary things. There some blessings are long term. God's love for us is a long term love. The hope of heaven will endure on the other side of the grave. If we place too much emphasis on the temporary and the temporary blessings disappear, we may feel let down by God. If we are thankful for the short-term blessings and know the greater blessings are the long-term then we can truly be thankful.

So, how blessed have you been this past day, week, year, or your lifetime? -- Dennis Tucker

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