GOD’S thought for man is blessing. It has always been so. When God created man, He blessed him. “So God created man in His own image; male and female created He them. And God blessed them.”
Sin came in, and with it death and judgment, but God was not turned from His mind to bless.
After the judgment of the flood, and Noah had offered burnt offerings―pointing to the blessed Person and death of God’s beloved Son―we read, “And God blessed Noah and his sons” (Gen. 9:11And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1)).
Later, when the world had sunk into idolatry, God called out Abram to be for Him. And God said to Abram, “I will bless thee―and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:33And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)). And so all through the Holy Scriptures we find the records of God blessing men; it is His pleasure to do so. Precious truth!
A wonderful day of blessing, the world has yet to see. God has foretold it. It is the coming reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Righteousness will then reign, and peace and prosperity fill the earth. Christ―and He only―will bring in this world-wide blessing. Then “All men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed” (see Psa. 72).
But this great day of blessing is future. Today Christ is rejected; and the world is reaping the fruits of having refused the Son of God. Before Christ brings in millennial blessing, fearful judgments must take place. All rebellion must be crushed. And He who is despised and rejected of men shall reign as “King of kings.” God has decreed it.
But at this moment there is wondrous blessing for men. Have you ever thought upon the manner in which the risen and triumphant Jesus went on high?
“And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50, 5150And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50‑51)). Consider it, hands outstretched in blessing! And such is His present attitude towards all men. On the cross He has borne the righteous judgment of God; now on high His hands are outstretched to bless.
Our first need, as sinners, is pardon. Free, full forgiveness is the beginning of the blessing. As soon as the Saviour was risen, He sends His disciples to proclaim forgiveness. “Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46, 4746And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46‑47)).
Great as forgiveness is, there is much more. Believers in Christ are “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephes. 1:33Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)). What wealth of blessing, all in Christ where He is. How richly blessed is the humblest person who trusts in Christ; how poor the millionaire without Him!
If you have not Christ, you have nothing that death will not snatch away. Health, wealth, and even the sweet ties of human relationships―all must go. Death is before you, and after death, as Scripture says― the judgment. Dare you shut your eyes to it, unsaved sinner? Which is it to be, blessing or judgment? God’s thought for you is blessing. Judgment is His “strange work”; blessing He delights in. It rests with you. Will you have Christ? Even now, confess your guilty need to the living God, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”
S. P. F.