Title

The Greater Blessing

Scripture
But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
(Luke 11:28)
Devotional
The Lord was responding to a compliment given toward Himself and His mother Mary. "A certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"[1] His response is clear and sure. It was and is obvious that Christ and the Virgin Mary were deserving of blessing. Nevertheless, Christ tells us that those of us who hear and obey God's Word are even more blessed. The greater blessings of God's Word are found in hearing it and doing it. It is not to be a matter of hearing or doing, but hearing and doing. The book of Revelation likewise tells us plainly, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near."[2] Furthermore the apostle James instructs, "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." [3]

[1]Luke 11:27
[2] Revelation 1:3
[3] James 1:22