Matthew 5:43-45
You might not recognize Stephen
Tobolowsky’s name but you’d probably recognize his face. A character actor, he’s appeared in some 200
films and almost as many TV programs.
You may have seen him in Groundhog
Day, Heroes, or Glee in which he
played the previous choir director.
I recently heard Tobolowsky tell
this story. I’ll abbreviate it. Several years ago, Tobolowsky began to have
trouble with his voice. He was told he
would have to have throat surgery that would require him to be silent for a
month before and about two months after.
During his convalescence he began to have neck pains. A visit to a specialist revealed he had
severe arthritis in his neck. Nothing
could be done about it but it wouldn’t keep him from leading a full life.
Then in 2009 Tobolowsky and his wife
visited friends in Iceland. As they had
on previous visits, they went horseback riding.
Tobolowsky’s horse threw him off and he was knocked unconscious with an
injury to his neck. Doctors believed the
actor had simply fractured his neck. In
an airport the way back home he met an orthopedic surgeon who asked about his
neck brace. When the doctor heard the details of the accident and Tobolowsky's
symptoms, he urged him to see a specialist as soon as possible since he
suspected the damage was worse than thought.
Back in Los Angeles, he learned his neck was actually broken. In fact, five vertebrae in his neck were
shattered. The good news was, his neck
would heal. But the doctor told him he
should have died.
What kept the break from severing
his spine? The doctor explained it was
the arthritis. The condition sent the
shock outward instead of inward where it would have damaged the spinal cord.
During his recovery, Tobolowsky, who
is Jewish, spent some time reading the Talmud.
In it, he says he read of how God’s blessings can sometimes come in
disguise. His arthritis was such a
blessing.
In my text, Jesus, who was Jewish,
is talking about God’s indiscriminate love, a love bestowed on everyone,
alike. To underscore this point, Jesus
used a phrase that is often misunderstood.
In fact, it is often assumed to mean the very opposite of Jesus’
intention. Jesus said that God “makes
his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
on the unrighteous.” Many take that
statement to mean that bad things happen to all of us. In fact, it means that good things happen to
all of us.
The rising sun promises a new day of
life and opportunities. The rain, as
Jesus’ listeners in that semi-arid land knew, meant the crops would thrive and
grow. God does good things for all
persons, apart from his gift of salvation to those who believe. The more we reflect on this common
grace the more we are likely to recognize that God gives many of his blessings
anonymously.
When we count our blessings, we are
declaring to ourselves that we have broken the seal of anonymity, affirming
that we understand, in the words of James, that “every good and perfect gift
comes from above.” As you and I set out
to make counting our blessings a regular spiritual exercise, this is where we
should begin. It reminds us that we are
on God’s mind all the time, not just when it comes to the big stuff.
Counting our blessings starts us
thinking about our lives. When you truly
count your blessings, you have to think about the details of your life. You have to reflect on what you wouldn’t
change even if there is a long list of things you would gladly change.
Let me make sure you understand what
I’m saying. If you are going through a
rough patch, a time of stress and trouble, take the time to think of all the
best things in your life. Make a list of
your treasured relationships, your valued experiences, your best victories,
your key discoveries. How many of those
things are the product of the hard times you've faced? If getting rid of the hard times of your life
also meant getting rid of the best things of your life, would you do it? The things you would keep even if it meant
keeping your troubled times should be prominent on any list you may make when
you count your blessings. I’m suggesting
this exercise so you won’t allow your troubles to blind you to the blessing
that are part of your life.
Let me make something else
clear: Counting your blessings doesn’t
deny the negative in your life, but it insists the negative isn’t all there is.
Let me repeat that: Counting your blessings doesn’t deny the
negative in your life, but it insists the negative isn’t all there is.
And even in the negative we might
find some surprises. Linda Yates is a
pastor in Canada. She is also a
cancer-survivor. In some of her sermons,
she shared insights she discovered as she faced the disease that threatened her
life. As she took the powerful drugs to
fight her cancer, she began to thank God for the scientists whose research
produced the drugs, the custodians who kept the drug factory clean, the truck
drivers who brought the drugs to her pharmacy, the pharmacist who sold her the
drugs. This reminded her to look for
blessings in the details, details it might be easy to overlook.
As we count our blessings we’ll
eventually realize blessings come in several categories. They each play a part in our lives and
reflect the indiscriminate love God bestows on us.
We should count the blessings that
delight us. That’s easy. We even sing about them and testify about how
they demonstrate God’s care for us.
We should count the blessings that
challenge us. That’s a bit tougher. Bryan used the term “blessons” recently. That’s what a lot of these blessings that
challenge us are, a chance to learn. Of
course, sometimes the challenge involves discerning what we’re supposed to
learn.
As complete as our list might
eventually be, we’re probably going to miss some blessings. We might think of these as the blessings that
puzzle us, trick us, elude us. We might
discover that something—like arthritis in the neck—we would have never
classified as a blessing really was.
Still, even knowing we will miss
something, shouldn’t keep us from making that list.
Starting the List.
How do we start the list? How do we begin to count our blessings when
we’ve be in the habit of calculating our troubles?
Sir John Templeton, the British
philanthropist, who funded the Templeton Award for Excellence, starts the day
with a simple exercise. As he lies in
bed, before getting up in the morning, he lists five new things for which he
should be grateful. That might mean
setting the alarm a few minutes earlier but it could be a valuable exercise.
Over the years, I’ve known many
people who persist in dwelling on the bad things that have happened to them
over a lifetime. They remember every
insult they’ve received; they reflect on every failure, they replay every
hurt. What if they changed their thinking
pattern? What if they began to focus on
those experiences that were beneficial to their lives, “blessings,” in other
words? It could change their
outlook. If you are in the habit of
focusing on the negative, start looking for the positive things you’ve
experienced in a lifetime.
As you do this, I think you'll find
anger and bitterness begin to dissipate.
Maybe this is the time to make an
important point about “counting blessings.”
I don’t think we can count blessings for anyone else. If they're not ready to pick up a calculator
themselves, they probably won't pay attention to your figures. Remember what
they say about trying to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and annoys
the pig.
Maybe the best thing you can do is
model an attitude of gratitude. Be
honest about the tough things you may be going through, but be sure to mention
the good things as well.
When you count your blessings,
consider finding practical ways to demonstrate your gratitude. That will help
you impress it on your memory. For
example, if there’s someone who was especially kind or helpful to you, you
might write a letter thanking them. If
you’re grateful for the comfort the Bible gives you, consider giving a donation
to an organization that provides Bibles for mission groups. You can think of ways.
Conclusion
Honest, clear-headed Christians
realize that blessings add-up. They
especially add-up when we look for blessings where we wouldn’t ordinarily
expect to find them.
Blessings can pop up in the most
unexpected places. Paul told the
Romans: “We know that in everything God
works for the good of those who love him.”[1] This is a reminder that God may bring
blessing out of the most tragic circumstances.
The greatest example of this is the cross of Christ. What appeared to be a disaster became the
avenue for God’s greatest blessing.
I would by no means suggest how
God might bring blessing from your toughest times, but I know it can happen.
More important, I know that in your
toughest moment, God is with you. And
that is surely a blessing you can count.
[1] The Holy Bible: New
Century Version , Containing the Old and New Testaments. Dallas, TX : Word
Bibles, 1991, S. Ro 8:28
