Blessed to Bless
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 Paul speaks of clay jars. The ancient jars in the picture above are from the holy land. They look a lot like the white ceramic jars I got from TJ Maxx on clearance. I fill mine with water and ice so that my guests can pour themselves a glass to quench their thirst. I fill for the purpose of emptying.
As a fragile jar of clay, I hold inside me a great soul quenching treasure: the light and life of God expressed in Jesus. Christ in me, the hope of glory! I am filled and blessed in order to empty and bless—quenching the thirsty souls of others in a thousand different ways! Is this what God meant when he told Abraham, the father of faith,
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
Blessed to be a blessing.
In my last post I wrote about salt. When sea salt is added to water in the right proportions, it can be poured onto the soil as a fertilizer. However, in the wrong proportions it becomes toxic—like the Dead Sea. This huge body of water is continually blessed and filled by the Jordan river. But it doesn’t empty. And because of that, the salt content is so high that it chokes out all life. In the same way, stockpiled blessings become lethal to spiritual life unless they are shared.
Years ago, I took on the dare from Ann Voskamp to list one thousand gifts. Until I did this, I didn't realize or acknowledge how blessed I actually was. Making a list of my thanks to God for all the riches of Christ He’s freely lavished opened the eyes of my heart to know how wide and long and high and deep is God’s love … for me! I am forever changed because of it. I just finished reading her next book. I'm challenged by a new dare: to intentionally make it a habit to pour myself out and share those riches with others. It couldn’t have come at a better time. The ratio of blessing in my life has risen to a critical level. I need to find more and more and more outlets to be who I truly am: my Father’s daughter—blessed in order to bless. Or I fear my spiritual life will languish like the Dead Sea. Living waters must never stop flowing because stagnation is dangerous to the life of God in us.
“Thank you Father for your great love and your abundant life that you freely share with us, your beloved children. Teach us how to be like you and share it with those you bring our way, even our enemies, the ungrateful and the wicked.”
