Blessing God

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).

The Christian life is really a treasure hunt in which you progressively discover the vast wealth that already is yours because you are now in Christ. One of the most important things for your spiritual growth is to ask God to open the eyes of your heart so that you will know “what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18).

Because God has blessed us with every blessing in Christ, we should bless God. Blessing God means to speak well of Him, or to praise Him for His glorious attributes and for His gracious actions toward us in Christ (Psalm 103:1–5). We thank Him for all that He is to us, for all that He has done for us, and for all that He yet promises to do for us throughout eternity. We bless Him by joyfully giving back to Him what He has first given to us, namely, our time, our talent, and our treasure.

We bless God by offering up “a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.” We bless God when we “do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:15–16). We bless God when our hearts overflow with joy in Him because of His abundant grace towards us in Christ.

—Steven J. Cole, condensed