Word of Encouragement (05/03/2023)
And of Asher he said, "Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be. (Deut. 33:24-25)
We observed that Asher’s blessing to be the favorite of his brothers is not a universal blessing. We also saw that, even so, we should not complain about this arrangement; rather, we should humbly submit to God’s sovereign administration of grace with thankfulness for the indescribable blessing of our salvation and adoption into His family.
I’d like to remind all of us that who should receive this blessing is up to God’s secret will. Jesus said, “...to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared” (Mark 10:40). Here, Jesus spoke out of His human nature, deferring to God the Father. Only God knows who the favorite of the brothers will be. Most of us will probably think that we cannot possibly be among the recipients of this blessing. But I want to challenge you, “How do you know? Are you saying you are privy to God’s secret will?”
Yes, we should be grateful that God granted us the gift of eternal life. We should be more than content with that. But why should we automatically disqualify ourselves from the blessing to be “the favorite of his brothers”? Is it genuine Christian humility to do so? I think not. I’m not saying that we can force God in any way to pick us and bless us with this particular blessing; it is something God predestined before the foundation of the world (cf., Mark 10:40). The question is how we know whether we are the favorite among our brethren. Well, the answer is in the question, isn’t it? It will be shown in the quality of the relationships we have with our brethren.
Do you think that this blessing comes in the form of magnetic personality and personal charisma, with which we were born? So, if we are introverted or shy, are we automatically excluded? Could it be that this blessing can also come in the form of gradual development through the faithful and diligent cultivation of our character? Do we not say the same thing about our spiritual gifts (which are also God’s blessings) that they need to be cultivated through our efforts? (By “spiritual,” I do not mean it in the sense of religious or mysterious but in the sense of originating from the Holy Spirit and therefore can include the Spirit empowering our “natural” talents.) If so, can we not grow in favor with God and men through our sanctification? Maybe this blessing is not a matter of black and white—that is, either you have it or you don’t—but a matter of degrees. Maybe we should all strive to grow in favor with God and our brothers by cultivating the fruit of the Spirit.
Of course, having God’s favor doesn’t always translate into having favor with men, especially with those who oppose God. But it is reasonable to expect that the two will go together in the Christian community since our God, who commands us to love Him with our whole being, also commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Having favor with men must not be our goal because it is something God must grant. But if we love God and love our neighbors as God commanded, we can expect to grow in favor with our brothers and sisters.
Let us give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life. Let us also pray and strive to grow in favor with God and men, especially our Christian brothers and sisters, by growing in our sanctification.