A Happy Life!
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful."
Psalm 1: 1
Sometimes you’ll hear the German word gesundheit when
someone sneezes. It literally means “health,” so saying it
after a sneeze means “Good health to you!” The English
expression “God bless you” was intended the same way:
“May God bless you with good health!”
But what does blessing mean? Why do we say
“God bless you” upon parting, or sign our emails
with “Blessings”? In both the Old Testament and
New Testament, the words for blessing literally
mean “happiness.”
The Old Testament word osher came from a root
meaning
“to be level or right, to go forth in properness and rightness.”
The New Testament makarios also means to be happy,
that
is, “to live in God’s favor.”
So when we say, “God bless you,” we are invoking
the happiness only God can provide. And we find that
happiness by living according to His guidelines for life,
full of the Spirit and based on the Word.
Who wouldn’t want to live a happy life? While the
world promotes many paths to happiness, only
God’s blessing can bring true happiness.
"If we want to know God and to be blessed
of God, we must start by worshipping him."
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
