Blessings in Disguise

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to teach a class using my new Lenten study, Blessings of the Cross (Cokesbury). It's a lectionary-based Bible study based on the theme of "blessings in disguise."

What is a blessing in disguise? It can be almost anything. However, we use this phrase to describe negative events that turn out to have positive value.

Here are some examples. Through an illness we learn how to depend upon others for help and experience deeper gratitude. After a financial crisis, we discover what really matters to us. Because of a failure we get in touch with humility and a renewed resolve to go forward. After a tragedy such as the death of someone close to us, we learn resilience in the face of a devastating loss.

None of us would call an illness, financial crisis, failure or devastating loss a "blessing." In fact, these would seem to be the opposite of blessings. Yet, if we learn from these negative things and are able to get in touch with our inner resources of faith and perseverance, they can be character and faith building.

Certainly, the cross is a blessing in disguise. This instrument of torture and execution has been transformed into the central symbol of the Christian faith. Through the eyes of faith, the cross represents new life, new hope and even joy. If the cross can be transformed into something positive and life-giving, so can any horrible thing that happens to us in life.

Blessings in Disguise

I'm in the midst of writing a Lenten Bible study on the theme "blessings in disguise." I focused on this theme because the given title for the study is "Blessings of the Cross."

The cross is the opposite of a blessing. It's an instrument of torture and death. In the first century, it was a cruel means of capital punishment. Yet, in Christianity, the cross is a symbol of new life.

Jesus suffers and dies on a cross. Yet, out of this death comes resurrection. The cross shows the very worst humans are capable of: torturing and murdering an innocent person. Yet, the cross becomes a means of forgiveness and redemption.

For Christians, the cross is the ultimate blessing in disguise. However, we experience blessings in disguise in daily life. Through an illness we learn to appreciate the gift of life on a deeper level. In a financial crisis, we discover what truly matters to us. In a time of tragedy we encounter God's grace.

Not every negative event that happens is a blessing in disguise. Yet, there is the possibility of it becoming so if we learn to look for it. Discovering these hidden blessings is not simple or easy, but it is worth the effort of looking for them.