Luke 3:22b NLT – And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Peanut Gallery: Jesus was a “blessed child.” At both His Baptism and Transfiguration, the Father made a special point of expressing His approval… the Father blessed His Son.

This blessing – “you’re my child and I’m proud of you” – is something we all yearn for. We want it at the end of life from our heavenly Father. And we want it during our lifetime from our earthly fathers.

It’s that earthly blessing that I’m thinking about here… and many of us never receive it.

One of the saddest recent Christmas stories came out of England:

When it comes to Christmas, it might be safe to assume children will ask Santa for an extensive list of toys, games and treats.

But a survey of their typical lists for Father Christmas has shown many have more serious concerns, requesting “a dad” instead…..

Despite their material requests, the tenth most popular Christmas wish on the list was a “Dad”.

For those of us who have/had loving, encouraging, supportive dads, the gain is immeasurable. For those of us who haven’t, the loss is enormous… it’s a hole in us that we long to fill.

If this unfilled longing resonates with you – or if you wonder how you can bless your children and grandchildren – I commend the book, The Blessing, by Trent and Smalley to you. It provides guidance for families seeking to bless their children following a Biblical model. And it provides healing and help for those of us who have been “looking for love in all the wrong places. “

At a family gathering a few years ago – our 2 kids, their spouses, and 8 grandchildren – we made a special effort to bless our family.

While they all watched, we singled out each of our kids and their spouses, laid hands on them and told them what we saw in them that made them special to us… and how proud we were of them. Then we asked them to do the same for each one of their children. We all prayed together and then had a fun and games evening.

Our kids are spread around the world now, but we continue the practice with them – and now our grandkids – whenever we can.

“A family blessing begins with meaningful touching. It continues with a spoken message of high value, a message that pictures a special future for the individual being blessed, and one that is based on an active commitment to see the blessing come to pass.”

Dr. Gary Smalley;Dr. John Trent. The Blessing (p. 30). Kindle Edition.

Check out Trent and Smalley’s book – The Blessing – there’s even a workbook available for anyone who wants to go deeper. You and your family will all be the better for it.