Bless

When I think of blessing, I imagine the repentant sinner on his knees before the priest, who places his hand on the man's head and says, "Bless you, my child."
The Hebrew word for "Bless" is Barak. It means to bend the knee, to kneel down, to bless, to invoke. The image I have of the priest needs to be reversed. It's the priest who does the kneeling. When you bless someone, you're not standing over them. You're bringing yourself down to their level, an act of humility.

If that isn't enough to chew on, consider this: there are numerous instances in which God blesses man. In Genesis 1:22, God blesses the whole world. He didn't create the world, wave His arm over it and let that be that. He came down to our level, because He's our heavenly Father. He did it again when He came down to us as Jesus. Wow. He must really care about us.

I hope this is enough to make you pause the next time you see the word "bless". I've come to notice just how often it's used. At least for me, it makes the thought of "blessing" people a more thoughtful process, knowing that it requires some kneeling on my part and not just a flick of the hand.

Have a good day.