Jimbo's Jots

“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field
    that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you heaven’s dew
    and earth’s richness—
    an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
    and those who bless you be blessed.” (Genesis 27:27-29)

The blessing passed down from Isaac to Jacob was a blessing of protection and promise. It was a blessing that invoked the power of God upon Jacob, not Esau.

So, the passing of a blessing on to our children can be rewarding and fulfilling for both child and parent. “It’s a way of helping children (and adults) experience at the deepest level of their hearts the certainty that they are highly valued and forever treasured by someone incredibly significant in their life stories.” (Trent and Smalley, The Blessing, page 6, bold emphasis mine)

Here’s what the blessing can do (These are taken from “The Blessing”):

• Change the culture. Here’s what we mean. Relationships are very important in “surviving” life. However, because adults are adulting, there is little time and energy for their children. The result is children do not learn how to relate to others especially their parents. The clinical term for this is attachment disorder – the breakdown for children and even young adults to establish significant bonds with their parents or others as they get older. This can lead to broken relationship in marriage or even if as they get older and have children of their own, a failure to relate to their own children.
• Open a child’s faith. Think about how faith is transferred from one generation to another. At earliest records in the Bible, it was a relationship that a parent had to their children. The command that God gave to Israel was to share their faith wherever they went (see Deuteronomy 6). I remember road trips with my dad to various day trips and singing in the truck. Even as write this, I’m a 9 or 10 year old boy. It was the songs in of themselves, it was the relationship and connection to my dad that make the songs important. Sharing his relationship with God through song and passing that love and relationship down to me.
• Heal the hurt. Trent and Smalley present this from the thought of we learn to cope from the hurts we experience, even in good homes, with methods of self-protection. We learn (and maybe even teach) that the best way to make our self look and feel better is through academic or academic success. Not saying those are bad themselves, but deep down, we have to ask why we are striving for those. A blessing will free give us the confidence and connection with our children and free them to pursue God’s best in every aspect of life.
• Open up your faith. Everyone is wanting to develop a stronger relationship with God. So, we purchase books and bible studies that will help strengthen our faith. That’s awesome! Maybe then, we need to look at how we lead others to a deeper relationship with God. Is that part of the Great Commission – “go and make disciples”? (Matthew 28:19) What better way to demonstrate our faith than with our children! (Disclaimer: here is where I will say that I’m good when it comes to saying and not necessarily good at practice all of the time!!) As we are called to make disciples, it begins with a healthy relationship with others and knowing our story of what God’s done for us. We then are challenged to carry that message wherever we go in life.