God's Double Blessings

God’s Double Blessings

I met Oscar in Jan 06. He looked unkempt with hair considerably too long, and a nervousness that was very apparent. I could see it in his eyes and see it in his actions. I knew he was the one I had come for. We loaded him in the car and took him home. Adjusting to life with the Donato family wasn't easy for OC. He may have been abused in the past, because he cowered every time someone approached him. And even though we had brought him home and showered him with love, affection, and tons of table scraps, he was still afraid and nervous. He evidently had some other problems. He has separation anxiety. OC is neurotic. He is Bea’s shadow. If I could speak OC’s language, I would say to him, "Relax. Everything is okay. You're part of our family, and we'll take care of you. Whatever happened in the past is past. You're with us now. Your life is different. Enjoy it." That's what I would say if I could speak dog. Unfortunately I don't. I've tried saying it to him in English, but I don't think he gets it. So, for now at least, OC remains just a little neurotic. In the church, I've known a few Oscars. In fact, there have been times in my own spiritual life when I've related to God the same way Oscar relates to us: timid, cowering, afraid of being abandoned--and not having a clue about what it means to be part of God's family and enjoying His blessings. As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” the preacher replied. “What else do you see?” Complete silence prevailed. “Don’t you see anything other than the dot?” he asked. A chorus of no’s came from the audience. “I’m really surprised,” the speaker commented. “You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all—the sheet of paper.” Then he made the application. He said that in life we are often distracted by small, dot-like disappointments or painful experiences, and we are prone to forget the innumerable blessings we receive from the hand of the Lord. But like the sheet of paper, the good things are far more important than the adversities that monopolize our attention. This reminds me of a bit of verse which, though I admit is somewhat trite, does express good practical advice. Someone has written: “As you travel down life’s pathway, may this ever be your goal: Keep your eye upon the doughnut, and not upon the hole!”

Yes, rather than concentrating on the trials of life, we should fix our attention upon is blessings. Have you ever considered the double blessings of God?

Let us say with the psalmist,

“Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Psalms 68:19 (NKJV)

Eph 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”

This majestic passage has often been referred to as a doxology, a literal explosion of praise to God for all that He has done. John Wick Bowman once called it “a hymn of salvation.” It relates how God laid the plans for man’s redemption and how those plans are being fulfilled in the hearts and lives of those first century Christians and will be realized also in the lives of all who have been and are responding since that early day. Paul begins by praising God for the spiritual benefits which are his and his fellow Christians because of their relationship to Christ. Blessed, as used here, means to “speak well of. Praise in other translations.” God alone is worthy to be praised/blessed because He is genuine and constant in His character and action. He alone is truly praiseworthy because there is no mixture in His motives and intention. God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has made known to us the nature of God. The Supreme One is not an austere, arbitrary judge but the Eternal Father, loving, merciful, and tender in spirit like Christ. He desires to bless His people abundantly, with double blessings. God loves us so much that He does indeed send double blessings. Look at Ps 103:1-5 as it expresses praise to God for His care of the People of Israel at the time of their deliverance.