The true, costly meaning behind the word.
The word “blessing” is not uncommon in the Christian’s vocabulary. You will hear it at a rate of once every few sentences when talking to the older women in the church, and at a rate of once every sentence in your average sermon by the local pastor. We remind each other to “count our blessings,” that we are “blessed” and that we should always trust that God will “bless” us.
However, what does the word actually mean? The word is translated from the Hebrew barak or berakhah. In the context of the Bible, barak is a show of respect represented in a gift or promise. This is seen in God’s blessing to Abraham in the form of a covenant in Genesis 12:2. It does not convey the literal meaning of the LORD bowing to Abraham; rather it is God allowing Abraham to be a part of His plan.
An interesting fact about barak is that it also means to kneel. This is better understood in the Psalms, where we are called to bless the LORD. In essence, the Psalms calls us to bow our knees in reverence to the LORD, who acknowledges us and has raised us from the dead.
When I ponder over this, there is nothing short of amazement as I echo the Psalmist, “Who is man, that you should be mindful of him; the son of man, that you should care for him?” (Psalms 8) We are all sinners, having lived our lives in rebellion to His will. We have chosen our own way and lost ourselves countless times than we can remember. And yet, the LORD of the Bible has not abandoned us – like the father of the prodigal son, He waits for our return every time we fail and restores us.
This, however, does not come without cost – the reason we are able to have this privilege is because of Christ’s redeeming death on the cross. An eternally just God could not bless a wayward creation; so He took our place in love to pay for our wickedness.
In this light, the term blessing becomes so much more. It involves gratitude from our hearts to bow in reverence to the God that has chosen and rescued us from the grasp of sin. It takes our eyes off the world to focus on the cross of Christ, the cross that enables us sons of Satan to become children of the Most High. Finally, it erupts in a paean of praise to God – to Him be the glory forever and ever!
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