We ought to be straight about the different characters of blessing in Scripture. At times it is a reward for good behavior. Other times it is the prerogative of God. But the most famous example is the blessing promised to Abraham and kept through his sons.

Jesus offers a different look at the old concept. Perhaps we ought to call it “Blessed (Jesus’s Version)”. It isn’t so fundamentally different as it is a new revelation. Something akin to a shift in focus and priority.

Jesus describes blessing in struggle, in lowliness, in poverty and in pain. And when we think of blessing as reward, this makes no sense. But if we think of blessing as a promise to always be there, our sense of blessing shifts. Our sense of hope and joy shifts. And our orientation to our environment shifts. From consuming to creating. Love. And Hope.