JUST BE A BLESSING….

The scratch on the black BMW was evident, but so too was the look of despair on the face of the man in the blue Honda Fit who caused it. 

“I don’t know what happened.  I just didn’t see you.  Sorry!”  He lamented as he sat in his vehicle looking up at the owner of the BMW who stood staring down at the scratch.  His tone was contrite and hopeful. 

From where I sat in my car, I could see it too.  It was a scratch that held the colour of the blue honda fit, and not a tiny one.

“It’s okay; don’t worry about it.  It’s just a scratch.  I will sort it out,”  the tall and strapping BMW owner said as he scrutinized the damage, in a most understanding tone.  His hands were at his side.   “We good,” he reassured.  Though he was tall, his presence was non-threatening.  He spoke in a manner that put the other man at ease. 

Still seated in his vehicle and looking over at the scratch and then up at the BMW owner, the Honda Fit man said, “Thanks, boss.”  I could feel his struggles.   I could tell that had he been required to fix the car, it would have been too much for him, emotionally and financially.

As I drove out of my spot in the parking lot, I smiled.  His gratitude was palpable.  Though I had nothing to do with the incident, I thanked the Lord for His presence in that situation.  There was no fuss, and there was consideration.  There was love.  “What a blessing that was!”  I shared his relief.

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines “blessing” as “God’s help and protection….”  The Holy Bible does not fall short of reminding us what it means to be blessed and what it means to be a blessing.  For example, Proverbs 10: 22 states that “The Blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”   

One of my daily prayers is for the Lord to help me to be a blessing to someone.  Often, the Lord answers my prayers by presenting situations that allow me to do so.   I am also sure that sometimes I am a blessing and don’t even realize that I was, because God, as we know, works in mysterious ways.  I know this is true, because I have seen where a person may extend their appreciation for something I didn’t even categorize or consider to be a blessing.  You never know.  The truth is, the blessing we are to a person may not always occur in tangible ways.  Blessings occur at varying degrees and in different ways.  The key is to want to be one and to act in obedience when instructed by God. As I think about the BMW man, who could have easily escalated that situation by insisting that the Honda Fit man fix his vehicle (after all, he admitted culpability), it reiterates what it means to be a blessing.  We are called to please God with our ways.  One of the ways to do so is to operate in service of each other.  Although the Bible talks about the return of God’s favour when we operate in service (“Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  Luke 6:38), we are also encouraged to give without expecting anything in return, because our reward shall be great in heaven.  After all, the instructions are clear and reiterated at several points in the Holy Bible; for example, “Live out your God-created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”  Matthew 5:48.  MSG

Many of us start our day with a prayer, which usually involves being thankful and/or asking for something.  Even when we don’t ask, God will fulfill a need that we are not aware we have, through someone else.  Therefore, being a blessing usually means that we are the answer to someone’s prayer.  But it is not always easy to do, because it requires obedience, which often takes us out of our comfort zone.  For example, there is someone with whom you may have had a tiff and let’s say that person has been unkind to you.  You may be instructed to extend an act of kindness to that person, but because of your history with the person, you ignore what God has placed on your heart to do.    When we operate in obedience and extend ourselves, we are giving people hope and showcasing God’s goodness.   Admittedly, I have had instances where I didn’t obey obvious instructions because of my own discomfort. But I am not unique; many of us are guided on what to do (to be a blessing) and to whom to do it, but we don’t always obey.

What a world it would be if we all operated in obedience and exercised our capacity to be kind – to be like the BMW man who saw the Honda Fit man’s distress and was able to extend himself to be the blessing that I am certain the Honda Fit man will not soon forget.

For many, kindness is not a default.  Therefore, the idea of obedience to God, let alone intentionally extending love does not form part of their daily modus operandi.  The way God works, however, is that He could literally use the deliberate effort to hurt another as a way of getting them where they need to be.  For example, when one person or group ostracizes a person, this could be a way to get them to leave a situation that God wants them out of, so that they can move on to that fulfils their purpose, in Him. 

Instead of wreaking havoc, which many spend time doing, we could work toward being someone’s light – the light that someone else, at some point, has been to us.

As we go about our day, the first thing for us to do is to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.  The response/instruction may not always be comfortable.  We may be asked to show up for someone, but we don’t because we are afraid of their reaction or rejection. I recently heard Pastor Phillip refer to someone showing up for him and sitting with him in silence, in a very dire situation, as the “Ministry of Presence.”  In that presentation, he outlines how massive a blessing that was to him and what could have potentially happened had Tiffany not obeyed.   As we ask in earnest today about how to be a blessing, be still and listen; then trust and obey.