You ever think about songs you used to sing that are seldom sung anymore? “Make Me a Blessing” used to be really popular in the Sunday School I attended every weekend. I never much cared for it; the music was too bland, the lyric too cliched, the song was just too too uninteresting for my taste. And the whole notion seemed a little like sucking up to people I didn’t necessarily know and probably wouldn’t like. (Even though I usually kept my mouth shut, I’ve always had a bad attitude.)
Fast-forward to 2006 and the previously discussed Year of Kindness. After not thinking about the song in years, I find that “Make Me a Blessing” has insinuated itself into my consciousness as part of this year’s quest for kindness. “Make Me a Blessing” has, in fact, become a constant prayer.
My Father God has worked a miracle in my psyche. Ain’t that a kick in the head?
Make me a blessing.
Out of my life may Jesus shine.
Make me a blessing, Saviour, I pray;
Make me a blessing to someone today.
– Ira B. Wilson
A couple other things:
- There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person (G. K. Chesterton)
- The English verb bless derives from the Germanic noun for blood and literally means “to consecrate with blood.” So as a Christian, I have been blessed (i.e. consecrated with Christ’s blood) so that I can be a blessing to (i.e. contribute to the well-being of) others.
Cliched lyrics? Maybe. But not an uninteresting sentiment. Not a suck-up philosophy. Just “the living expression of God’s kindness.”