Are you feeling down or depressed, frustrated, and maybe hopeless? Take heart, you are blessed of the Father.
Always have, always will be.
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory and majesty and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
All the nations will be gathered before Him [for judgment]; and He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right [the place of honor], and the goats on His left [the place of rejection].
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me [with help and ministering care]; I was in prison, and you came to Me [ignoring personal danger].’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’
The Judgment Day
This scene is subtitled in the Bible as “The Judgement.”
I used to dread thinking of the judgment day when I stand before God, have Him review all I’ve done in my life and I have nothing good to show for it.
But instead, I’ll have all my sins flash before me in slow motion for all the world to see!
I think that’s what brought me to my knees, many years before, acknowledging myself as a sinner and asking Jesus to come into my life.
I don’t want to have nothing to show for my life.
Since then I’ve asked Him to use me in whatever way He wants and display His power through me.
There’s this old Christian song titled “Thank You” by Ray Boltz. I really like that song and it always brings me to tears.
He sings about how at the end of our lives, when we stand before the Lord, those whom we were able to touch by any act of kindness we show while we lived on earth, no matter how small, will come up to us and say,
“Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord, I’m so glad you gave.”
Blessed of the Father
When I read this chapter now, I don’t feel the usual dread but hope instead.
It’s because all my being zoom in to these words:
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Matthew 25:34 NIV
We are blessed of the Father, favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation.
We are heirs to the Kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
Not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did for us.
He gave His life as atonement for our sins, dying in our place, and then He rose, destroying death so we could rise to life with Him.
And now He says to you and me:
‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
What grace! What a blessing!
A life of Blessing: Blessed and blessing others.
When we experience such blessing from the Lord, it naturally overflows out of us towards others around us.
God is always a God of overflow and His grace in us will always cause us to share this grace with others.
Doing good becomes natural for us. An overflow.
We see Jesus in others we encounter and we can’t help but always do good for the sake of others as Jesus has told us to do.
The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’ Matthew 25:40 NIV
We are blessed so we can be a blessing to others.
Now your turn
You are blessed of the Father.
When you feel down or depressed, frustrated, and maybe hopeless, take heart, you are blessed of the Father. Always have, always will be.
Take your eyes off of yourself and your situation, lock it onto Jesus, and then look around to those Jesus wants you to bless.
Give to those He wants you to give to – in time, talent, and treasure, and you’ll see:
Great is your reward.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34 NIV
- Remember always, you are blessed of the Father, in Jesus.
- Live in the Blessing of the Father
- Bless others as you are blessed of the Father.
Dear Lord,
Thank You that in You, Jesus, I am blessed of the Father. As I am blessed, let God overflow in me, blessing others around me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
This is it for now. Till next time.
To our health, wealth, and victory – GODSPEED!
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about Blessed of the Father.
