If you’ve spent any amount of time on social media, you’ve probably come across someone describing themselves as blessed. An article published in 2020 claimed the hashtag #blessed had been used at least 120 million times at the time of writing. It had greater popularity than even #bestfriends, another trendy hashtag at the time.
Given the trendiness, it might be wise to examine whether the world’s understanding of what it means to be blessed actually aligns with true blessedness. Does being blessed mean belonging to a wealthy family, or having the best of everything, for example?
In Luke 11, immediately after Jesus had responded to claims that he performed miracles by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, a woman shouted from the crowd saying, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed” (Luke 11:27)! From how Jesus responded in the verse that follows, we can conclude that true blessedness isn’t tied to anything we have or are but to the God who saves.
Mary wasn’t The True Blessedness
It would be remiss not to address Roman Catholic theology here. To Catholics, nothing could be more welcome than the woman’s praise of Mary. For them, Mary is the blessed, holy mother. They not only revere her but have, in essence, deified her by, in many ways, worshipping her and praying to her. They also deem her to be without sin in what is known as the Immaculate Conception. However, that flies in the face of what the Bible teaches. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the only human who had no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:5). The book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that Jesus saved us because he was unstained by sin (Hebrews 7:26). If Mary was unstained by sin as well, we have a lot to reconcile with concerning Christ’s work.
However, according to Jesus’ words, she wasn’t blessed by being Jesus’ mother. Instead, she was blessed because she heeded the word of God (Luke 11:28). For Mary to be considered blessed, she had to surrender to Jesus as her Lord and Savior and heed his commands. That’s precisely what she did when she sang the Magnificat. In it, she sang of how she is blessed not because of who she was but because of who God is and what he had done through her (Luke 1:48-49). For her, being truly blessed goes against the Marian dogma. As she admitted, her blessedness was not intrinsic to her, but on account of God.
True Blessedness is in God
Who then is he that is truly blessed? As Jesus said, it is those who hear the word and keep it (Luke 11:28). The Psalmists before him argued the same.
- “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).
- “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12).
- “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).
- Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie (Psalm 40:4)!
- Blessed is the one you choose and bring near to dwell in your courts (Psalm 65:4)!
These all show that true blessedness isn’t intrinsic to us. Instead, true blessedness is found in God alone–in the God who saves. Is it your delight to meditate on his word day and night? Have you taken your refuge in him and turned to him for the forgiveness of your sins? Have you made him your sole trust, or are you going after a lie?
To Be Blessed is to Feast on Christ
How about those who tie true blessedness to what they have done? In Luke 10:19-20, Jesus helps us see that that is far from the case. Seventy-two disciples had just returned from the mission trip Jesus sent them on. With great excitement, they recount all they had done in Jesus’ name. To their surprise, Jesus is not particularly impressed. Their blessedness was to be found not in the great things they had done, but in the fact that the Lord knew them (Luke 10:20).
The same theme manifests a little later in Matthew 10 when Jesus visits Mary and Martha. Martha sets out to do things for Jesus, but Mary sits by his feet to listen to him (Luke 10:39-40). As Jesus tells Martha, it isn’t that she did anything wrong; Mary simply focused on the truly important thing. While Martha did well in performing the Christian duty of service, it distracted her from fully internalizing that Jesus was with her. She didn’t realize that true blessedness was not in her service but in feasting on the words of Jesus.
Do you consider yourself blessed because of the service you render? While good and necessary, service should never become an impediment to our feasting on the words of the Savior. If, indeed, you do not feast on God’s word, you will find yourself not as willing to live by it.
True Blessedness Helps Us in Our Suffering
A correct understanding of true blessedness is necessary to suffering well. False teachings leave many empty for the simple reason that their form of blessing does not account for suffering, as it is, in essence, based on gain. True blessedness, on its part, does more than account for suffering and loss–it welcomes it. When Paul said that he regarded all as loss for Christ, he accepted the suffering he faced for Christ’s sake (Philippians 3:7-11). For him, suffering the loss of all his earthly blessings was well worth gaining Christ.
In his letter to the exiles, Peter writes of the blessed hope that awaits all who labor for Christ’s sake. He reminds them that their perseverance to glorify God will ultimately be rewarded (1 Peter 1:3-9).
The author of Hebrews echoes the same. He reminds his readers of how well they suffered and that they should continue to do so, for they know their true blessedness isn’t in what is earthly but in what is heavenly (Hebrews 10:32-39). When you know what your true blessedness is, then you can press in when you suffer. You will quickly press into God’s character, word, and people.
Christ, The Truly Blessed One
You have no better example of true blessedness than Christ. For the joy set before him, he endured everything thrown his way, all to fulfill his Father’s will (Hebrews 12:2). He is our ultimate example as only he fully submitted to his Father’s will to the point of dying on a wooden cross (Philippians 2:6-11). He is the only one who obeyed God’s word and resisted sin to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews 12:4). Therefore, we feast on him for true blessedness (John 6:35, 48-51, 53-58). Do you struggle to feast on Christ’s words? Please, let not ignorance and arrogance as of the Hebrews in John 6 be found in you.
But if you’re no longer a child of wrath but are in fact a child of grace (Ephesians 2:1-9), strive to feast on Christ and be a workmanship created in him for good works (Ephesians 2:10). In him alone is true blessedness.