Why Are We Blessed?
Summary of a Lesson from Tim Keller
In the Old Testament, a father’s blessing to his child was very important. Isaac, son of Abraham, had two sons, Esau and Jacob. In his old age, Isaac decided to give his blessing to Esau because Esau was his favorite. At that time, Isaac was blind. Disguised as Esau, Jacob fooled Isaac and got his blessing. When Esau found out, he was furious.
It is unclear why Isaac could not just take back the blessing. When therapists tell us even off-hand comments, simple words and symbolic actions, could have an impact on us. How much more is a blessing from your father who is about to die?
As we know, words can have significant influence, especially on our children, so we must choose them carefully. Based on what we know of our children, we should use words to empower, encourage, and affirm.
We need blessings from those we value. The main figure we should value is God.
How do we, the sinful ones, receive God’s blessing? Through Christ’s sacrifice.
Whenever Christ prayed, He always addressed God as the Father, except once. When He was on the cross, Christ cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) At that point, Christ had lost His sonship. He took on the curse we deserved so we could get God’s blessings (Galatians 3:13-14).
We can receive God’s blessing exactly as we are, unlike Jacob, who had to hide his real self to get his father’s blessing. Because of Christ, God loves us as much as He loves Christ! (John 17:23). We become just like Christ in the eyes of God (Hebrews 12:23).
Abraham received God’s blessing. Then he became the channel of blessings to all on earth because Christ was Abraham’s descendant (Genesis 12:2-3). Similarly, after receiving God’s blessing, we also can bring blessings to others.
In conclusion, through Christ, we get God’s blessings. God loves us as much as He loves Christ. From that, we become a source of blessings to others.
Summarized from a Tim Keller sermon:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-problem-of-blessing-5247/
It is unclear why Isaac could not just take back the blessing. When therapists tell us even off-hand comments, simple words and symbolic actions, could have an impact on us. How much more is a blessing from your father who is about to die?
As we know, words can have significant influence, especially on our children, so we must choose them carefully. Based on what we know of our children, we should use words to empower, encourage, and affirm.
We need blessings from those we value. The main figure we should value is God.
How do we, the sinful ones, receive God’s blessing? Through Christ’s sacrifice.
Whenever Christ prayed, He always addressed God as the Father, except once. When He was on the cross, Christ cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) At that point, Christ had lost His sonship. He took on the curse we deserved so we could get God’s blessings (Galatians 3:13-14).
We can receive God’s blessing exactly as we are, unlike Jacob, who had to hide his real self to get his father’s blessing. Because of Christ, God loves us as much as He loves Christ! (John 17:23). We become just like Christ in the eyes of God (Hebrews 12:23).
Abraham received God’s blessing. Then he became the channel of blessings to all on earth because Christ was Abraham’s descendant (Genesis 12:2-3). Similarly, after receiving God’s blessing, we also can bring blessings to others.
In conclusion, through Christ, we get God’s blessings. God loves us as much as He loves Christ. From that, we become a source of blessings to others.
Summarized from a Tim Keller sermon:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-problem-of-blessing-5247/