“What are we blessed for?”

As I was studying the Beatitudes in preparation for All Saints Sunday, I came across a commentary that explored the question, “What are we blessed for?” It’s a question that invites us to look beyond the blessings themselves and toward their purpose.

If someone were to ask us today, “What are we blessed for?” what would we say? The commentary concluded that “we are blessed to bless.” God blesses us not for our own comfort or gain, but so that we might become instruments of His grace and compassion in the world. Too often, our prayers for blessing—for ourselves, our church, or our nation—focus on what we hope to receive. But what if we began to ask for God’s blessing so that we might be empowered to bless others?

The apostle Paul reminds us of this calling in his letter to the Galatians, “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Gal. 5: 13-14)

And when we ask, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers with the story of the Good Samaritan—the one who crossed boundaries of race, religion, and expectation to show mercy. Our neighbors are not just those who look like us, think like us, or live near us. Our neighbors are all those in need of compassion and care.

So perhaps the question for us is not just what blessings we have received, but how we are using them. May we continue to live our faith in such a way that God’s blessings flow through us into a world that so deeply needs His love.
 
Pastor Tae Park