Today, I talked about the Ritual of Blessing, and how YOU hold the power of blessing. I believe this transfer happened in a conversation that Jesus has with Peter in Matthew 16:13-19. When we make a statement of faith about Jesus, we get the keys. We 'bind and loose' (if you're lost, look up the text).
During my message, I tell a story (you can watch it here, the story happens at 47min & 50 sec into the service) about a couple who struggled with a cancer in their son. They were looking for permission to make their own decision - to let him go or fight for him. To trust God in this life...and with the next.
I didn't tell how the story ended. I wanted to, but it was beyond the point I was trying to make. Often, I will leave a story unresolved because the resolution is so powerful that it's actually a distraction to what we're discussing. So, let me tell the rest of the story here.
That couple's family and friends all thought they should let their son go. Publicly and privately, they pleaded with those young parents to put an end to the treatments, make that boy comfortable and end the pain and struggle. When they came to me, they just wanted permission to make their own choice, and, partly out of ignorance and partly by accident, I gave them what they needed. I gave them the blessing of permission even before I knew what it was.
That last I heard, which was many years later, that boy was alive and well. They needed someone to give them permission to keep fighting, even when it went against most the counsel they were getting. The fought. Their kid lived. It doesn't always work out that way, but this time the blessing of permission made an unspeakable, tangible, life and death difference.
Don't underestimate what God has given you. YOU hold the power of blessing! Who around you right now needs the blessing you have to give?
1 comment:
Thank you for reminding me that God expects us to have the faith of a mustard seed and the power of Christ interacting together inside of us. The blessing of a young couple fighting for their son and knowing when to release reminds me of how our hearts in the flesh struggle to give in to God's Will. I believe our faithful Father will reveal to us when we need that permission and when we need to release. It was a wonderful message today (once again, God is using you and I for one am thankful). As I struggle to be a blessing to my family, I struggle with the concepts of "permission" and Release. I think I am closer to resolving it after today. Thank you and God Bless.
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