Be a Blessing

All of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this, you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3: 8-9

Would you consider yourself an adventurous person? As we well know, some people love to do new and exciting things that are out of the ordinary. They live to take risks and do things that might be considered by others to be dangerous. They enjoy looking back with pride on the things they have done that took them out of their comfort zone, and they have a long list of things they still long to do! Are you one of those?

NOT ME! I don’t think I have an adventurous bone in my body. Probably the most adventurous things I have ever done in my life were to walk across the swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain and have 2 kids! That’s as wild as it gets for me. I long for nothing more exciting than that!

I once read that being a Christian is like going on a great adventure that will take you places you never imagined you could go. Just like any adventure, it takes confidence in yourself and what you believe you can do through Him, and it takes boldness and courage to live a life of faith and to let others know that you are. Sometimes it takes a strength you didn’t even know you had to be able to step out in faith and believe. And even more, like any adventure you might undertake, it requires a “mission” frame of mind to accomplish what you desire to do and an eagerness to do it well.

God calls us on a mission to show others what being a Christian really means. We’ve been called to fulfill a purpose and that is to let our faith and love for God shine so others might see Him through us.

This verse from 1 Peter tells us how we might live such a life. We are to live in harmony and peace with each other; be sympathetic always; love others as brothers; be compassionate and humble; don’t repay evil with evil – but with blessing; keep our speech from evil, deceit, and insult; and be a blessing to everyone around us.

In other words, God calls us to be good people who take care of the needs of others by showing love, kindness, respect, and compassion. Scripture tells us that God blesses us so we will pass on those blessings to others, and hopefully with our own life experiences, we have learned to be more attentive to others and their needs, their loneliness, and their pain. May our eyes, ears, and hearts be opened and may we have the confidence to share His love and grace with others.

If we are to be bold adventurers in our faith, we can have no fear or hesitation about helping others. For fear can crowd out the good things such as happiness, clear thinking without anxiety, confidence, and mercy – things that our faith can give us and that we can share with others around us.

We need humble, gracious spirits that are not afraid to speak of our faith and belief in the authority of His Word and in His Son, Jesus Christ. We are to be bold, to step out of our comfort zones, and to do things for others and for God that show our love for Him. We are to be a blessing to others. May we show those around us what a life with Him can mean. He will join us in our mission and what an adventure it can be! What blessings we will receive along the way!

Prayer

Dear God, we thank you for this adventure of life that we can share with you. We thank you for our many blessings and pray that on this day and every day, you will help us to be a blessing to others. May we be bold in our faith and show others what a life with you can be. In your most holy name. Amen