Genesis 1
22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”...
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”...
Genesis 2
3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation...
We had a wonderful Christmas this year. If we are honest, gift-giving, while celebrated as something almost commercial by many, has a lot to do with making it what it is. There are some that feel this is not appropriate, but I disagree. The opportunity to bless friends and family, even if for a moment, is appropriate to do. Yes, it is possible to be opulent, but not necessary.
There is joy in both blessing people with a meaningful gift, and being blessed with a meaningful gift. That someone sacrifices for another to bring them joy is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, there is that one person who just seems to know what gift would be the most meaningful. As a child, my aunt would often send something I liked. As an adult, my sister-in-law has given me some of the best shirts I ever wore (seriously, she has a great eye for stuff I would not necessarily buy for myself, but winds up looking great).
When I was 12 years old, my parents bought me a trombone. The presentation was incredible. They woke me up extremely early with an "emergency," that there was a group playing a special Christmas early morning gig nearby and they needed a trombone player right away. They drove me down to the school auditorium (we lived on the campus of Mt. Pisgah Academy near Asheville, North Carolina, where they taught at the time). I walked in to Christmas music playing, but there was no one and nothing in there except a spotlight on a big, wrapped box on the stage. My dad's voice came over the PA system, telling me to unwrap the box and open it. I was really in a fog at this point still, but went over are started to unwrap it, revealing a brand new, very nice trombone. I was over-the-top ecstatic! That present wound up paying itself back, too, as playing that trombone got me scholarship money for all the years I attended school at Southern Adventist University.
I am convinced that God blesses us to give gifts to others, because I feel it helps us to understand Him a bit better. He has always given the best gifts.
In Genesis 1, two times we read about God blessing living beings. To all living beings he "blesses" them with the ability and purpose to procreate and fill the earth with life. That theme of separating and filling finds its completion in this, but filling was not enough. God goes further and "blesses" humanity with the purpose of reigning over what He created... subduing it and governing it. But that was not enough yet! At the beginning of Genesis 2, God "blesses" a day, which sounds strange, but the end result was really a blessing for creation. In this, He blesses the seventh day of creation with rest (stopping what He was doing), making it holy (set apart). The reason was because that was the day He stopped the act of creation. It was a day for creation to stop their own work and set apart that day to enjoy and appreciate what God had done the prior six days.
To "bless" was a special thing. It came from the word, "barak." The word can also mean to "kneel." If you look at the Hebrew letters that form this word, the "B" (bet) was created to denote a house, or container, or full vessel. The "R" (resh) was meant to represent the "head," or leader, and a channel of sorts. The "K" was meant to represent an empty cup, or outstretched, cupped hands. There were no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet, and Hebrew reads right-to-left. So, the word for "bless" carried meaning: "Full House" + "Head-Vessel" + "Empty Vessel." It is the picture one giving to one who is ready to receive.
In essence, what God did was to gift living creatures and a day with purpose: to procreate and fill (all creatures), to reign over creation (humanity), and to set apart the seventh-day for the purpose of rest and the enjoyment of what God had done--create & give purpose!
I have received and have given some pretty good gifts (at least I think I have), but what God gifted this world with is unmatchable. God gives the best gifts.
God really only asks us of one gift: thanksgiving and praise. These are but reflections on His goodness and what He has done. It is the only thing we can really even give Him.
So let's start honoring this word. Who is God? What about His character is most meaningful to you? What has He done in your life, and can thanksgiving become a habit?
God gives the best gifts. Today, give God the best gift you can give Him!
