Beyond Measure
When we speak about blessings, we usually speak about the good things we enjoy, like family, friends, a nice holiday, or a great coffee. These are wonderful blessings, worth counting, and giving thanks for. And yet I was reminded recently (through a prayer of thanks offered by a friend) that when the Bible speaks of blessings, the language it uses is often far more extreme than the language we’re accustomed to using ourselves. Paul tells us that “no human mind has conceived” the greatness of “the things God has prepared for those who love him“ (1 Corinthians 2:9). In other words, God’s blessings for his children are literally off the charts, stretching beyond the borders of imagination. “My cup overflows”, says David, in Psalm 23, and in Psalm 16 he speaks of how,
“You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
David is not simply tagging his holiday photos with #blessed, he’s speaking of a joy that is eternal, and fills him completely. Think of the abundance of all the blessings God gives to those who draw near to him. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Not just life—life to the full. He doesn’t merely bless his children with moments of hopefulness, he anchors our hope “firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19) in himself—he gives us “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Those of us who trust in Christ do not receive only forgiveness of sin through his sacrifice for them (an immeasurable blessing!). We are also welcomed into God’s own family—“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). Living in this new relationship with God brings the blessing of peace—not a temporary, fragile peace—but “perfect peace” (Isaiah 26:3), “which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). In being close to Him, God’s people also find rest—not a short reprieve, or way to forget our troubles temporarily—he welcomes the “weary and burdened” to find, in him, “rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). And he gives, far beyond a few highlighted moments of happiness, his own joy, a joy that is “inexpressible and glorious” (1 Peter 1:8).
The blessings God gives his children are beyond imagining because God himself is beyond imagining, and the greatest blessing he can give anyone is simply to bring them near to himself, the blessing beyond measure, overflowing forever. How could you measure or quantify the blessing of knowing the infinite, of experiencing the unfathomable love of the immeasurable God? There is no language large enough for such a blessing.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” – Ephesians 1:3
