A large piece of my practical theology is that the people of God, the church, are called to be a blessing to the world. With that in mind, as I enter the world with the desire to further the Kingdom of God, I often find myself asking what it looks like to be a blessing in that specific situation. The people of God often fail to be good news to the world and must once again make this a priority in its ministry.
While this posture of engaging the world is incredibly important, the draw back to this line of thinking is that it tends to emphasize that I am the one one doing the blessing, and never the one being blessed. I was reminded of this yesterday as I rode the bus. As I engaged in conversation with the woman sitting next to me, I was the one who ultimately felt loved and cared for. She seemed to actually care about who I was on a deeper level than just what I do. Her example of care and concern for others has deeply impacted me.
While it is incredibly important to enter the world with a desire to bless, I pray that God would continue to open my eyes to the myriad of things He wants to teach me. As I dialogue with others, may my heart and mind truly be open to learning from and being blessed by the other and much as I desire to teach and bless them.
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