When approaching the finish line of a big race, bicyclist Lance Armstrong once commented on the huge, cheering crowds awaiting him. He noticed thousands of people getting up on their feet to applaud as he made his final push to win. Among them was one particular spectator who stood out among the crowd because he was not cheering, but booing.

This didn’t stop the world champ, who went on to win the race in record time. But when Armstrong went to bed that night his most vivid remembrance of the crowd was not of the throngs of adoring fans, but of the one sour-faced man, who stood there refusing to give his approval.

It’s been said that you and I can spend some of our very best energy trying to win the approval of others. We desperately want to pass muster and be commended by parents, friends, and especially God. We seek to offset our fears of insignificance with the support and even adoration of those who mean most to us.

In this Sunday’s Gospel you and I will hear a very important reminder of our own blessedness. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…’  God is showing you and me his amazing love, proven by Jesus, who is the Almighty’s grandest declaration of our worth. Let’s face it, you and I give our most valuable things to the people we love most. And God’s most valuable asset, His Son, was God’s way of saying yes, we’re worth that much.

I often doubt that we know how deeply we are valued by God – how thoroughly we are approved by God in Christ. And I am also convinced that we know little about how much our own approval means to other people. As we are blessed by God, shouldn’t we, then, seek to bless others?

So here’s our homework.

Bless someone today.

Here’s how:

Let's claim your own blessedness and pass it on.

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Reading

Still – Lauren Winner

Jesus the Jewish Theologian – Brad Young

The Missional Reformation – Reggie McNeal