Blessing Others

Blessing Others
  
The word “bless” is used in a variety of ways in our culture, from saying “bless you” after someone sneezes to saying “bless your heart” when we feel bad for someone else. However, in the Bible, we see a rich history of God’s people blessing others; additionally, we see Jesus himself offering blessing to children in Mark 10:13-16. Below are three biblically-based ways we can bless others:
 
Blessing based on speech. Biblical blessings always involve direct speech toward another. One way that we can bless others is to be careful with our speech. We can tend to let our speech drift into grumbling or gossiping or complaining or tearing down or criticizing; instead, may we ask the Lord to help our speech toward others be patient and kind and encouraging and loving.
 
Blessing based on touch. Biblical blessings also often involve touch, which would have likely been the one blessing laying hands on the head or shoulders of the one being blessed. The presence of physical touch is a picture of unity and relationship connected to the verbal blessing being spoken. Though we must certainly be appropriate and careful about how we touch others, we must also remember that part of the way we can bless others comes through the physical, whether a warm smile or eye contact during conversation or a handshake or a hug.
 
Blessing based in the Lord. The idea of blessing is not simply horizontal; rather, the caring speech and touch used to bless others is ultimately intended to remind us of and point us to the Lord. To bless others is to draw their attention to the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. This can be one benefit of cultivating consistent Bible reading into our lives. As we fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word, it hopefully begins to flow out of us toward others.