Page 150 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Foundational Discussions in Christian Psychology

Vibeke Möller (Denmark) Vibeke Møller

Comment to (D enmark),

„Blessing – a life style“ MD, psycho-
therapist, di-
rector and ow-
ner of IPSICC
It has been refreshing to read this article about – International
blessing. You find blessings (God blesses the Psychothera-
man and the woman) from the first chapter in peutic School
the Bible and then through the whole Bible. It in Christian
is seldom that you read about blessings or hear Culture.
it preached. His article reminds me of the book
“The Gentle Art of Blessings” by Pierre Prader- Contribution by Vibeke
vand. http://emcapp.ignis.de/7/#/190

I am sure that if we practiced blessings much
more our world would look different.

Blessings are very powerful and can, as Jou- Jesus told us to bless those who persecute us. Is
bert writes, have different forms, and different this a command or an invitation? I would trans-
words can be used as in Luke 10: 5 “Peace to this late it as an invitation. Jesus invites all the times.
house”. As far as I know The Faroe Islands still I do not agree with Joubert´s writing about for-
use God´s peace as a greeting when they enter giveness. Not that I am against forgiveness. It
a house, and I have experienced the same in has to have its right place in people´s life and
Sweden. You can also find parents on The Faroe history. I have experienced again and again in
islands say “God Bless you”, when they send the churches that people have been forced to forgi-
children to school. It is a part of their culture. ve before they have been ready for it. Jesus ne-
To bless a house, people etc. with peace has an ver forced people to forgive.
enormous effect, because the peace with which
you bless people is shalom. Shalom means to The Lord´s prayer: Forgive us the wrongs we
heal you, make you as a newborn baby without have done as we forgive the wrongs others have
any spot or blemish. done to us. What does that mean? Does that
mean that if I do not forgive those who have
As Willem Joubert writes you can bless nearly hurt me then God will not forgive me and I will
everything in a person´s life. What I think is not go to heaven? If this is true then our salvati-
very important is that you bless specific areas. on is conditional. In the Syrian Bible it says we
This could be to bless a person´s emotions to will forgive those who have hurt us. There is no
expand. For example, many people, who have time limit when you have to forgive.
been abused, do not have any anger about what
has happened to them. Those, who work with Forgiveness is a process and it can take many
abused people, know that the backbone of he- years to come to that point. In my organizati-
aling is anger. So you can bless the anger in on we talk about the school of forgiveness. You
them to grow and come out. start one day in school and you ask God to
teach you how to forgive just as you learn dif-
How do you bless: Do you just say “I bless this ferent subjects in school starting in grade one.
and that”? Or do you say “I bless you with cou- In my opinion, there is something missing in
rage and strength to do this or that”? When God his outline about forgiveness:
blessed the first people on earth in Genesis 1 he
also said “Be fruitful”.

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