Be the one who blesses

Hebrews 7:4-7 Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest's office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. When Melchizedek came out to meet Abraham when he returned from conquering the kings, he blessed Abraham. According to the author, that meant that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because there is no dispute in principle; the lesser is blessed by the greater. The implication of the author is that if Jesus is a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, then Jesus is greater than Abraham. Therefore, the covenant established by Jesus is greater than the covenant made with Abraham. Remember, this discussion of Melchizedek was in the flow of the author’s teaching about Jesus as our glorious high priest. His point is that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promised blessing of Abraham. This raises a question in my mind. So who has the greater joy, the one blessed or the one who bestows the blessing? I suggest that not only is the one who blesses the greater of the two, but also he is the one who experiences the most joy when the blessing promised is bestowed and fully realized. This encourages me to be the one who blesses, not because I want to be greater than others, but because of the joy to be experienced from giving the blessings. God’s joy is full because He is the source of blessing to all who are in heaven and earth. What incredible joy He must experience! Jesus said that He commanded us to love so that we might experience His joy and our joy be made full (John 15:11). So today, let’s turn our joy meters on and love with Jesus. Let’s be the ones who bless those with whom we come into contact, with the love of God.