Five Invitations - Day 21

DAY 21 - Who Can I Bless?
2 Samuel 9:1; Luke 6:31 

“To whom can I show kindness?”

At the peak of his power, King David asks, “Who can I bless?” instead of, “Who can benefit me?” David wants to help someone from his dead friend’s family, even though they could be a political threat. Ancient kings typically wiped out their rival’s entire family when they took power. Instead, David helps a potential enemy!

David anticipates Jesus’ Golden Rule. Jesus says, “Do for others what you’d have others do for you.” Other religious leaders have said, “Don’t do to others what’s offensive to you.” But the Golden Rule steps beyond that. One just requires leaving people alone. It’s “you do you, boo.” But “do FOR others” means looking for opportunities to do good. It means asking, “To whom can I show kindness?”

Asking, “Who can I bless?” makes makes you lean in toward relationships. It takes you closer to community, to belonging. You can’t “do for others” without others! You’re opening the door to other people.

We can debate exceptions and extenuating circumstances, but it’s virtually impossible to be a Christian all alone. The pandemic pulled us away from each other and broke the habit of gathering with other Christians for worship, fellowship, and encouragement. God didn’t make us to be alone. God invites us to be together. We experience God in a unique when we belong to a Christian community. We find our way into Christian community, in part, by asking, “Who can I bless?”

Do you want to connect more with God? Then ask, “Who can I bless?”

REFLECT:
Do you find it easier, harder, or about the same to relate to others since the pandemic?

How might asking, “Who can I bless?” take you closer to others?

PRAY:
Lord, help me to lean in, not away, from others. Help “do for others what I want done for me.” Amen.