I write the title this way so that we all may be educated thru discussion.
KJV refs. Please add verse support in all replies instead of just flaming to other.
I postulate that as being created in the direct image of God The Father that He also blesses us to be prosperous in all ways: in health, in finances, etc.
First is that we as Christians are adopted into the covenant of Abraham . Gal 3.8-9
With that said this then shows Christians can be/will be Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. heb 6.14
Then the parable of the sower.. specifically the 4th part in Luke 8.8.
We bless and multiply by sowing seed from our overflow in each and everyones ministry. This is living waters John 4.10. Remember that the blessings from God only come thru other people. This is the living water that flows thru the world granting grace to those that receive. These blessings should not stop with you but continue to others thru you.
In all of God's creation there is seed. For man this seed is not just procreation
. But includes money, lands, friendships, doing service, giving blessings, etc.
How many watermelons are in 1 seed. Answer innumerable. How many blessings are in your seed. Again the answer is innumerable
The "Prosperity Gospel" is just another mistranslation of Scripture. It imagines that if we live a righteousl life before God, then God will bless us in all ways, especially materially.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at the story of Job. Job was a righteous man, and lost everything, almost including his own life. His friends came over, like good Jewish friends, and sat in silence with him for a while. Then, they told him that he must have certainly done something to offend God to experience all these problems. But Scripture says Job said he hadn't, that he was, in fact, a righteous man.
God is not really that interested in our material success. He is more interested in our souls. There is but one defnintive failure for any human being, and that is the failure to achieve eternal life at the end of life.
Everything that God allows to happen to us is, in the end, for the good. We certainly may not see or understand it from our earthly viewpoint, but because we know God's nature, we can rest assured that this is so!
Couple of stories I like to tell to illustrate this point. Here's the first...
A man had a beautiful young German shepherd dog, whom he loved very much and who loved him very much. But, ever so often, the man would take the dog to the vet for a checkup and his shots. The dog, however, hated the shots! Whenever the man drove up to the vet clinic, and the dog realized where they were, he would begin shaking. The man, patiently, would bring the dog in, let the vet examine him, and hold him while the vet administered the injections. The dog would whimper and look at the man like, "I thought you loved me?! Why are you letting him do this to me?!" And the man understood what was going on in the dog's mind, and thought, briefly, that maybe he could sit the dog down and explain all the biological reasons why the shots were for his benefit, etc. But, then, he realized that the dog had absolutely no capacity to understand the explanation, so he just hugged him. God is the same with us. Much of the stuff He allows to happen to us, for our own good, certainly doesn't seem like it! But we know God desires our ultimate good, always.
The other story is an old one. An old goldsmith took on a young apprentice to teach him the trade. The young man watched as the old man extracted the gold from the ore, put it in a crucible and put it in the fire, as hot as it would go! The gold melted, and the impurities floated to the top. The old man took out the crucible, skimmed off the impurities and put the crucible back in the fire. He repeated this process several times until he finally declared that the gold was purified. The young man then asked, "Master, how do you know when the gold is finally purified?" The old man looked at him and said, "Well, when I can look down at the molten gold and clearly see my own reflection, I know it's purified." God does the same thing with us. He puts us in the crucible here on earth (problems, troubles, etc.) until He can see His own reflection in us.
The degree to which God allows us to suffer is in direct proportion to the degree of holiness to which He calls us.
