Bless God

When I hear people say "bless God", it puzzles me.  How can we creatures bless the Creator?  Yesterday, I read John Piper on this subject:  "... in Scripture when God "blesses" men they are thereby helped and strengthened and made better off than they were before, but when men "bless" God He is not helped or strengthened or made better off.  Rather man's blessing God is an "expression of praising Thankfulness".  When the OT speaks of blessing God, it does not "designate a process that aims at the increase of God's strength".  It is an "exclamation of gratitude and admiration."  God is the fullness and source of all blessing.  If this is so, then a most natural burst of praise would be "You are blessed!"  The recognition and joyful exclamation of God's blessedness should be described as "blessing God".  That does not mean that we make God larger or higher."

With all this in mind, I began to think that God blesses us and out of His blessing, we return the blessing.  It all came from Him, just like Godly love, mercy, etc.  We are the product of what He has been teaching us and any expression of right attributes from us was only possible because they came from Him.  Like in His light, we see light and become light for those in darkness.

So, as I thought on these things today on my walk on this gloriously beautiful day, I began "blessing God" for health, strength of legs to walk, beautiful blue sky, white wispy clouds, pink blossoms of the tulip trees and the gentle breeze.  Bless You, God!  I bless You!