Psalm 67:1-5 (verbatim): May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
This is a prayer for God's blessings so that we, in turn, might be a blessing to all the nations. So what kind of blessings does that refer to?
The greatest blessing for followers of Jesus in this lifetime is to have a close walk with Jesus. In fact, that's the best thing about eternal life, too--being with Jesus! Having a close walk with him now (or abiding in him) means loving him, obeying him and serving him. It also includes spending regular time with him... worshipping, praying and reading his word, the Bible. Notice that the first step to closely walking with Jesus is loving him. This is the greatest commandment. All the other things follow: obeying, serving and spending time with him in worship, prayer and meditation on his word.
So what's the second-greatest blessing for followers of Jesus in this lifetime? It makes sense that if the greatest blessing correlates with the greatest commandment, then the second-greatest blessing would correlate with the second-greatest commandment: Love others. What are some ways that we can love others? Well, there's nothing more important to each and every person in this world than his/her salvation. Nothing even comes close because the consequences are eternal. So first of all, we can regularly participate in the Great Commission! Of course, the Great Commission also includes discipleship of Jesus-followers, "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:20. No doubt, there are many other ways to love others, and different people will feel called to various ministries where they can apply their unique spiritual gifts. But when we pray Psalms 67:1-5 (paraphrasing) "God bless us so we can be a blessing to all the nations..." that points directly to the Great Commission.
It's good news that everyone can receive the blessing that comes from regularly participating in the Great Commission.
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