blessed

I found this on Rachel Brazell's blog. So powerful.

It made me really stop and think about blessings. We are so incredibly blessed, and I know that I personally often take it for granted. Yet, what I was really thinking about is the reason we are blessed.

I've been known to cringe when I hear people pray, "Lord, thank You for the blessings and good things you've given us to enjoy." ... To enjoy? I don't believe that God gave us these blessings for us to just enjoy them. He gave them to us for a purpose, and that purpose is not for our own pleasure. It's to bless others out of our love for Jesus.

Nowhere can I find biblical backing for the idea that God gives us blessings simply for our personal enjoyment of them. That might seem harsh because our culture has so soaked us with the idea that the only valuable things are the things that make us happy. Really, I just can't see myself standing before God on His throne and hearing Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You truly enjoyed yourself with everything I gave you. You really used your blessings to have a good time. Keep enjoying yourself now in Heaven."

No, what He will say is, "Well done, good and faithful servant. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I was naked and you clothed me."

You see, the reason we have these blessings is so that we can bless others. We are the ones who have food and water to give, a home to open, and clothes to share. We are the ones with the responsibility to give it away. We have so much more than so many people, than most of the world. And the greatest blessing that we have is the knowledge of the truth.

Just as we shouldn't keep our possessions and gifts for ourselves, so too we must share with everyone the knowledge we have of our Savior. We are blessed with the means to share this message in so many ways. We have facebooks, blogs, twitters, and emails, besides being constantly surrounded be all kinds of people, and also have the money and resources to travel near and far with the good news.

We will all give an account for what we do with our time, our money, our things. Because after all, it's not our time, our money, or our things. They're all God's. And He has blessed us with the opportunity to use these blessings to bless others.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that God wants us all to be miserable and live in a stick shack with mud on the floors and walls. What I'm saying is that when we realize that our true reward and joy comes from sharing our blessings with others, giving up those blessings won't be a sacrifice, it will be a blessing in and of itself. That's where our true joy comes from - serving the One we love. In other words, when we truly love Jesus it won't be a choice between our happiness and our devotion to Him. Rather, our true happiness will come from radical commitment and crazy dedication. And that's what I want: not to live to enjoy my stuff, but by not needing my stuff, find true joy.

I am blessed. You are blessed. We are all blessed beyond measure. And we are blessed for a reason.

So, being blessed, bless.