“Before original sin, there was original blessing. And so life is! That first blessing sets the tone, sets the table. . . . It also reveals God’s most ancient instinct. Blessing is God’s default setting — His first and foremost reflex. If you don’t believe that, you’ll doubt the goodness of God.”- Mark Batterson
God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”- Genesis 1:28 (NLT)
In his Preface (“Ariadne’s Thread”) to Double Blessing, Mark Batterson compares life to a labyrinth. Thus, we find life full of relational twists and occupational turns we failed to foresee. Consequently, like Theseus in Greek mythology, we all run into some Minotaurs along the way.
Furthermore, Pastor Batterson observes, just like escaping an ancient labyrinth, we sometimes feel hopeless as we weave our way through difficult seasons of life. But, just like Theseus using Ariadne’s ball of thread, there’s a way out. However, to find it, we must backtrack all the way to Genesis – the beginning of human history. Mark explains:
“God wants to bless you beyond your ability to ask or imagine. There. I said it. And I believe it. The question is, do you? The blessing of God is Ariadne’s thread, and we’ll thread that needle from Genesis to Revelation. What happened at the very beginning has more to do with your future than you might imagine. . . . But the blessing of God is more than a mystery to solve. It’s a decision to make, a habit to form, a mindset to establish.”
Today’s question: Do you believe, with Pastor Batterson, that God’s original blessing to Adam and Eve sets the tone for your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Standard of giving or standard of living?”
