224. Blessed Forever
1 Chronicles 17:27 Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Lord and it shall be blessed for ever.
The promise is that when God blesses it shall be blessed forever. When God blesses someone there is no expiration date. A true godly blessing lasts into eternity. Earthly blessings are good and we are thankful to God for every temporary blessing we enjoy during our lifetime on earth. All earthly blessings are for a time and they do run out. God blesses with health, but eventually it stops. God blesses with wealth, but eventually it runs out. God blesses with family and friends, but eventually people move on or move away. God blesses with a good reputation, but eventually that passes also.
All the blessings of life on earth that we enjoy and thank God for will pass away, just like heaven and earth will pass away. But God blesses, and it is blessed forever. Temporal blessings are wonderful, but in one sense they are not real blessings if they are not forever. A philosophical question to ponder: if a blessing is one day taken away is it a real blessing? In truth, a true blessing should last forever. If it should be taken away we would just be disappointed again. But an eternal blessing is different: we never lose it, it’s never taken away, and it never ends.
God blesses with eternal life, and with all the wonderful things that life gives, like love, joy, peace, goodness, wellbeing and just feeling good. And the real blessing is that these things never end. It just keeps getting better forever. We look not at the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen, for they are eternal. What God gives He never takes away: we enjoy His blessings forever. During this earthly life all earthly, physical, material and visible blessings are taken away again. Sin takes it all away; sin brings death, the end of all blessings. But God found a way to take away sin and death, which rob us of life and stop the blessing, and replace them with righteousness and life forever. And nothing can stop the blessings of eternity.