“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

Matthew 5:11-12

Dear God, but I thought you blessed me when I send you all of my money and do everything right. I thought the blessing was the lack of mocking and persecution. (Sarcasm implied)

I don’t know that we think about this passage near enough and how Jesus would define blessing. We think of blessings as a life lined with good things: safety, money, affirmations, love, and “plenty.” But that’s apparently not how Jesus defines it because he is saying the blessing comes when I experience the opposite of these things. So what does blessing mean?

I think it means that the persecution and/or struggles will draw me closer to you and, in return, you will grow the fruits of the Spirit in me. Love. Joy. Peace. It’s that simple. It might not look like a blessed life from the outside, but it’s what the Christian life is all about according to Jesus.

Father, I am frankly not sure I want to live a blessed life as defined by Jesus because it scares me. The world’s view of a blessed life is much more attractive. But that’s not the way this works. Much like exercising breaks down muscle so that it can build back stronger, I have to be willing to let you break me down in order to get to the blessed life you truly have for me. So do with me as you will.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen