Have you ever thought that much about the words you speak, hear, and use each day? Have you ever put any thought into how nuanced your words are? Or, how nuanced the English language is? Or, honestly, is NOT? While I have pondered on this from time to time, I never gave it any real, considerable thought. At least, not until recently.

(As a side note, the reason I say our language is not very nuanced is because we tend to use the same words for many things. For instance, did you know that Eskimos have 50 different words for snow? Or, that the Tamil people of India and Sri Lanka have more than 50 words that mean variations of the word love? Isn’t that awesome?! I think so!)

I am doing a Bible study on happiness and it has brought all of this to the forefront for me. And, it is fascinating to me. Which, of course, means that I must share it with all of you.

How about the word word? Dictionary.com says that it is a unit of language. Which is true. But, thanks to my Bible study, I now think of words as containers that carry meaning. Isn’t that cool? A word is a container that carries meaning!

Now onto some words that are new to me, and one that I have been defining incorrectly.

Let’s start with the word blessed. Have you ever thought about what the true meaning of the word blessed is? I have always thought of it as meaning being gifted with something, or having something nice bestowed upon you, that you didn’t ask for or deserve. And, I have always associated it with being a Christian. Basically, I think of being blessed with gifts from God. (Gifts such as life, a home, food, etc.)

But, as we all know meanings of words can change over time.

Did you know that, in the Bible, blessed often really means happy? I had no clue! Blessed is the word that I mention above that I have been defining incorrectly.

Here are some new words for you. The Hebrew word for happy is asher. The Greek word for happy is makarios. So, both asher and makarios mean happy. And, many translations of the Bible use blessed for asher and/or for makarios. When the KJV translators rendered asher and makarios as blessed, their audiences knew the words meant happy. Happy was a synonym for blessed at that time.

Now though, no one seems to associate these two words--blessed and happy, happy and blessed. What a shame! God wants all His children to be happy. He wants all of us to be blessed. God has hard-wired all of us to want happiness. God, our Father, is a happy and generous Father, and He created us in His image.
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Finally, before I go, I must share with all of you the word makarios doesn’t just mean happy, but it refers to deep, true happiness in God. Isn’t that beautiful?

Have you ever looked at the cross and thought that it also looks like a plus sign? Or maybe you’ve looked at a plus sign and thought about how similar it is to the cross. I was thinking about this the other day when it occurred to me—maybe they look comparable for a reason.

When I see a plus sign (+) I know that that means to “add to”. If you look it up online, you will find that, “A plus sign is the sign + that is put between two numbers in order to show that the second number is being added to the first. It can also be put before a number to show that the number is greater than zero, and after a number to indicate a number that is more than a minimum number or amount.”

When Jesus died on that cross for us, He sure added a lot to our lives, didn’t He?

His death was a game-changer. When Jesus died on the cross, He added eternity in heaven as an option for us. ETERNITY! In heaven! My small little mind can’t even truly grasp that. All we must do is believe in Him and ask Him into our lives.  

With His death on the cross, we received so many amazing gifts. He died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. He died for us. For. Us. He died, so we wouldn’t have to. I definitely count that as a plus!

Jesus died to bring us into relationship with God. And, when we are in relationship with God, God gives our lives meaning. God also gives us unending grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Add in His unconditional love and constant support and perpetual strength.

These are just a few of His mind-boggling gifts. And, while each one is incredible on their own, when you tally them all up you begin to realize just how astonishing God and His love for us truly is.

By dying on that cross, Jesus added so much potential to our lives. If we believe in Him and trust in Him, we have the ability to do anything we set our minds to. Not the least of which is to extend His love, His forgiveness, His grace, and His mercy to others. That is certainly adding something to our own lives and the lives of other people, isn’t it?

As you can see, the pluses abound!

I am sure there are about a million more things I am forgetting that we could add to this list.

Thank you, Jesus, for adding so much to our lives by dying on the cross. May we open our eyes and hearts to all the many blessings you add to our lives each day. May we learn to be thankful and grateful for each and every one. It’s in your name we pray, Amen.