Have you noticed that blessing other people seems to be a lost art. Why? Perhaps it is because people do more cursing than blessing, these days. Be careful not to read the lips of the coaches on the sidelines. Popular parlance has taken a steep curve downward in recent years. Language that used to make us blush has become common, and as a result so have we. Chesterton wrote that humans are the only species capable of blushing and the only species that needs to.
In this passage we find the great blessing used by the people of God. The Lord told Moses to tell Aaron, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites: The Lord bless you...” Notice that the great “I am” is the power behind the blessing. When we pray blessings in our church I ask people to lift their eyes upward to the only One who can actually bless us.
How does the Lord bless his people? He keeps us, makes his face shine on us, is gracious toward us, turns his face toward us and gives us peace. Don’t we need that blessing today? Here is an idea: substitute names of others for the word “you.” Pray it over your family today. Pray it over your friends. Take a breath. Pray it over those whom you do not like. Jesus said, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Now try putting your own name in the places where it says, “you.” Receive this from the Lord today. He is present with us and he is blessing us. Lift your eyes to the sky. We are blessed!
