Friday, 24 February 2012

Joel Mennie on Blessing


Joel Mennie, ‘What is a Blessing?’ (3 February 2012).


Having written recently on blessing (see here), this short piece by Joel Mennie caught my eye a few days back. He says:


‘Taking the word blessing at face-value and upon brief scanning of the Old Testament references, we could simplify things by saying that to be blessed means to be favoured by God and to bestow a blessing is to pronounce the favour of God.’


He divides the bulk of his treatment into two dimensions – seeking a blessing and speaking a blessing:


‘When it comes to Blessings, two things are happening. Firstly, we are seeking a blessing – “Lord, please bless X,Y,Z” and secondly, we are speaking a blessing – “The Lord bless X,Y,Z”.’

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