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God wants to bless all people. From the time of Moses, He gave instructions to Aaron to pronounce His blessings upon the people of Israel. The Aaronic blessing is found in Numbers 6:24-26 – “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” “Peace” (shalom) in the Bible is more than just a cessation of conflict. It includes prosperity, children, security, happiness, health and a host of other good things (Deut. 28:1-14). In New Testament times, the Apostle Paul and other writers often echo the same greeting in their salutation. Apostle Paul assumes an authoritative role by echoing the ancient Aaronic blessing. One of the tasks of those in priestly office is to “pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD” (Deut. 21:5). In today’s letter writing and email messages, we often begin with a gracious “Dear …” and end with a kindly “Yours sincerely” or “God bless you” for our salutations.
What does this mean to Christians? Do we simply receive God’s blessings and often take them for granted? Are there responsibilities having received blessings? Generally speaking, Christians have a higher calling than most others. To grasp the significance of being in God’s family, we have to appreciate the reward of eternity when we rightly don’t deserve it at all. Salvation is attributed to God’s grace alone and freely given to us. We are blessed with the gift of God’s grace and the resulting peace.
God has a purpose for bestowing His blessings on us. He gives us blessings so that we can bear fruit. Blessings afford us an opportunity to be a blessing to others. We are not blessed because of our good behaviour or good works. They are a sign of God’s grace and we need to use them in a way that God wants. Grace is given to us so that we may be a conduit of God’s love to others too. Blessings are wonderful, and as God’s chosen people, let us learn how to share them with others. There is much to be learned from salutations in the Bible. For a start, we can show ourselves to be more sincere in our faith and hope in Jesus by including a Bible verse in our greetings where appropriate. Let us proclaim our faith just a bit further and stronger.
