Be Blessed

We all want God to bless us. But do we really know what that means? It certainly doesn't mean indulging our desires. What does God think a blessed life is like?

Jan 28, 2026

One of the greatest consequences of our modern world is that we moderns have been convinced that egalitarianism and individualism have been elevated to the highest good.

We insist on a definition of “freedom” that means “I want to do what I want to do!”

But the problem is that if I do what I want to do, my desires have to be disciplined and mature, or what I want to do quickly becomes an addiction rather than freedom.

All we have to do is see the “fruit” that comes from people indulging their desires without first disciplining their desires to see where this madness leads.

We long for what only God can give us: everybody being equal and justice being done.

What we long for is a good desire.

But how we achieve our desires is broken by our disconnection from our Creator.

In fact, our faddish obsession with “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is poisoned by the delusion of forcing language and mere revenge for real or imagined wrongs done by one group against another.

But the problems aren’t “linguistic.”

They’re much deeper.

What we need is to be blessed, not indulged.

Today’s Lesson: Luke 6:17-23

At that time, Jesus stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.”

Jesus stands on a “level place” to teach the people those famous Beatitudes: “Blessed are you...”

He sees a cross-section of the local population who came to hear Him AND to be healed of their diseases. What drove these people to Christ was His reputation for healing. They desired healing for their bodies.

But what they found in Christ was Someone who not only healed their physical brokenness but also insisted that they face and have their spiritual illnesses healed as well.

He confronts them with this challenge because physical healings are always temporary, but true, deep, and eternal healings always include the soul.

No wonder He announces “Blessed are you...” as His way of revealing what truly matters.

What Can We Take From This?

First, answers to injustice and inequality are found in the Person of Jesus Christ, not in ideology.

“Jesus stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.”

Notice the setting. A level place. A cross-section of society. People from everywhere. All gathered to Jesus.

They came because they were broken. Diseased. Troubled with unclean spirits. Desperate for healing.

And Jesus healed them. All of them. Power came forth from Him and healed them all.

Our human desire for justice or equality has to be found, not in a set of legislation, political philosophy, or ideology, but in the Person of Jesus Christ. He is our answer to injustice, inequality, and brokenness. He is the Source of freedom that is true freedom and not the fantasy of freedom that is really just another form of slavery.

If our society is going to escape the fractured tribalism of our day, we’re going to have to bring society to Jesus Christ.

That means we who say we follow Christ are going to have to get serious about being proactive disciples of Jesus and live out the “Blessed” revelation of true freedom and equality.

Are you looking for answers to brokenness in ideology? Or in the Person of Jesus Christ?

Next, being blessed means having your desires matured and disciplined, not indulged.

“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.”

Notice what Jesus calls “blessed.” Poverty. Hunger. Weeping. Hatred. Exclusion. Reviling.

These aren’t things we want. These aren’t things we pursue. These aren’t things we think make us blessed.

But Jesus says they do.

Why?

Because they drive you to God. They force you to seek what only He can give. They discipline your desires away from temporary satisfaction toward eternal fulfillment.

We want to be blessed by having all our desires indulged. We want freedom defined as “I get to do what I want to do.” We want equality measured in economic terms and enforced by legislation.

But that’s not being blessed. That’s slavery to undisciplined desires. That creates fractured societies divided into “us vs. them.” That substitutes one tyranny with another.

True blessing comes when your desires are matured and disciplined. When you learn to hunger for the Kingdom of God instead of temporary satisfaction. When you learn to seek eternal rewards instead of immediate gratification.

Are your desires being disciplined and matured? Or are you demanding to be indulged?

Finally, living the blessed life means embracing generosity and repentance, not exclusive tribalism.

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.”

Jesus tells His disciples they’ll be blessed when they’re hated, excluded, and reviled for His sake. Not because suffering is good in itself. But because their reward is great in heaven.

And that means living differently from the world. Not forming exclusive tribes that perpetuate division. Not seeking revenge for real or imagined wrongs. Not defining freedom and equality in purely economic or political terms.

But embracing a lifestyle of generosity and repentance. Becoming persons rather than individuals. Seeking Him who IS the True Human and inviting all around us to become by grace what Christ is by nature.

We Orthodox have a rich treasure house of spiritual insight and wisdom laid at our feet by the saints, the liturgy, and the spiritual disciplines of the Faith. If we simply have the courage to actively know these sources, be humble enough to embrace them, and practice them, we will see our own lives healed and blessed to a depth that affects all around us.

Our parish communities are called to be examples of heaven on earth and to share and extend the blessings of Christ to all.

Are you living the blessed life of generosity and repentance? Or are you maintaining the prideful arrogance of exclusive communities that only belong to your ancestral tribe?

St. Ephraim the Syrian

Today we commemorate St. Ephraim the Syrian, one of the greatest hymnographers and theologians of the Church who lived in the fourth century. He was a deacon in Edessa (modern-day Turkey) who wrote hundreds of hymns and theological works that are still used in the Church today.

St. Ephraim understood what Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel. He embraced poverty, hunger, and weeping. He lived the blessed life by having his desires disciplined and matured through prayer, fasting, and repentance.

He didn’t seek to indulge his desires or demand his rights. He sought the Kingdom of God. He hungered for eternal satisfaction. He wept over his sins and the brokenness of the world.

And he was blessed. Not with wealth or comfort or popularity. But with deep spiritual wisdom that has fed the Church for seventeen centuries. With hymns that still guide us toward repentance. With theology that still reveals the Person of Jesus Christ as the answer to all our brokenness.

That’s Normal Orthodoxy. Not seeking to be indulged. But seeking to be blessed through disciplined desires, generous living, and perpetual repentance. Not looking for answers in ideology. But finding them in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Your Response Today

Are you willing to come to Christ “on a level place” and allow Him to heal you at your deepest brokenness?

Are you humble enough to embrace timeless wisdom preserved for you and your children in this precious Orthodox Faith, and actively educate yourself through that wisdom?

Stop looking for answers to your own brokenness or society’s brokenness in places that aren’t Jesus. Stop defining freedom as “I want to do what I want to do” without first disciplining your desires. Ask God to mature what you want so that what you want is what He wants.

Embrace the blessed life. Become poor in spirit. Hunger for the Kingdom of God. Weep over your sins. Let your desires be matured and disciplined through the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and confession.

And live generously. Not exclusively. Don’t perpetuate tribal divisions. Don’t seek revenge for wrongs. Don’t reduce equality to economic terms.

Be an example to the world of heaven on earth. Make your parish community a place where Christ heals all who come. Where the blessed life is lived out practically. Where people can see what true freedom and equality look like.

The whole world is waiting to see if you will be Orthodox on Purpose.

Being Orthodox on Purpose means seeking blessing through disciplined desires and generous living rather than demanding indulgence, and finding answers to injustice in the Person of Jesus Christ rather than ideology!

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?