I spent the first part of last week with my wife and girls at the Great Wolf Lodge. Our church’s kid’s camp was held there and it was our duty to attend.
Our main job was to connect with kids, attend services, and enjoy our time with our girls. Wow, how fun is that!?
As a family we felt loved and we were honored to get to hang with the Kid’s Life team.
After a few days there I drove out to speak at a friend’s summer camp at Fort Flagler on the Washington State peninsula. Tyler Sollie is the lead youth pastor at Eastridge Church and he and his team were incredibly hospitable.
While I was there I was pampered and well taken care of. About 30 different times I was asked if I needed anything…
“Another water?”
“More food?”
“Let us know if we can help,” was the constant refrain.
I felt like a minor C-list celebrity. Did I deserve this kind of treatment? No, I was simply coming up to bring the message they were paying me to deliver.
These recent examples show how me and my family are blessed by association. We received both invitations, not because we deserved them, but because of our connection to who was hosting the camps.
The Kid’s Life team from our church wanted us to come and hang with their students. The pressure was off. We went to connect with the students, particularly those that are transitioning up to youth. My girls got to enjoy three fun vacation days at a great waterpark because they’re connected to me. They too were blessed by association.
The opportunity to speak at Tyler’s camp was because of a friendship that formed in part because of my senior pastor, Brian Dolleman. Tyler and him have been friends for years and as a result I am blessed to call Tyler a friend as well.
Again, I find myself blessed by association or to put it another way, blessed through my connections.
Do you see a trend here?
Me too.
The Bible is full of examples of being blessed by association.
Joseph’s family was spared and prospered even after they treated him poorly. That’s a great example of God’s grace and blessing at work.
The Israelites were blessed and rescued through their connection to Moses.
Esther saved her people from the threat of complete genocide.
I could continue…
Check out this passage from Romans 8:15-17
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.
Because of our connection / association with Jesus we are blessed! Walk in that truth today. You can’t earn it, you can’t force God’s hand, and you can’t make it happen in your own strength. You’re blessed because of your association with Christ.
You’re HIS kid! You are blessed because of that. That’s G!
Let me wrap up this post by asking you these two questions:
1. Who are the people your’re blessed to be in association with? Your parents? Peers? Pastor?
2. Who is blessed because they’re in association with you?
