If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. (Luke 10:6 NASB)
"If you don't want that, I'll take it!" It's one of those comments you sometimes hear among family members at a meal (almost always one of the guys) when one person leaves a portion of food on their plate. We don't usually think of it in relation to blessings, but it is, in essence, what Jesus was suggesting. The sent ones were to offer a blessing of peace when they entered a house. If no one wanted to receive the blessing of Christ's peace, that was fine. The blessing of peace would return to the one who spoke it! That rejected blessing wasn't a wasted effort at all!
When we bless others, we are blessed in return, even when the one to whom we speak a blessing rejects the blessing. If they accept the blessing of peace, we have the joy of introducing someone to Jesus. If they reject the blessing, we have the joy of receiving that blessing back! The peace comes back to us, because we have been obedient in speaking the blessing.
When Jesus instructed us to pray for our enemies, He did not promise that every enemy would become a friend. What He knew was that, even if the enemy rejects every effort of the Holy Spirit to change his/her heart, the prayers are not wasted. God can bring that blessing right back to us because of our obedience.
Well, then, should we offer beautiful words of peace in order to gain peace ourselves? Of course not. First, we must obey Christ simply in order to obey Him, and for no other reason. Second, we cannot give what we do not have. Who would want the peace we offer if they can see that we do not have that peace ourselves? No one. This offering of the blessing of peace begins with the peace of God in our own hearts.
It is when we have the peace of God that the fun truly begins! We who know Christ have an exciting time ahead if we are willing to offer the blessing of peace to all we see. It is guaranteed that we will receive a blessing in return. 100% return on your investment is a pretty nice return, isn't it? In these uncertain times, it's good to know of something with such rich rewards. Fear not. Freely offer the blessing of Christ's peace to all who will hear, and wait with expectant hearts for what God does in return.
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If you need help with a too-busy schedule, the link to last night's post is here: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-jet-fuel-day.html
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