Part of my fascination with Jesus is what must have happened during the bulk of his lifetime. I do not believe the apocryphal tales of Jesus that suggest he is a vindictive little miracle worker who kills on impulse. I believe this is the projection of a spooked church afraid Jesus wanted them to follow him. Those who did follow were, of course, done in by authorities. This may have influenced the folk who produced most of these writings long after the real Jesus was forgotten. If he was ever known.

Albert Schweitzer, before he was a doctor in Gabon, was the foremost Biblical scholar of his time.

He gave it all up when he despaired of ever producing an accurate account of Jesus. Lesser minds have not been so bashful. It is highly profitable to suggest Jesus was nothing more or less than the precise person portrayed in Scripture.

But that covers less than four years. Speculation about Jesus' childhood and young manhood is inevitable.

Method

My method of fathoming what Jesus did as a child and young man are derived from inferences based on the Bible accounts and knowledge of the best scholarship regarding what Jesus actually said. An example of inference is my assumption that Jesus at around 12 amazed religious leaders with sage questions and comments. Basing conclusions on the earliest and most authentic Jesus sayings is why this article is about blessing.

I believe that one of the first things Jesus understood was the incredible power involved in the simple act of blessing. We all know what a blessing is. If I extend myself in your direction and say "bless you" that is a blessing. If Jesus blesses those who thirst for righteousness, that is a blessing. What does it mean? It means that the favor of God or reality or of whatever you take to be the source of goodwill, truth, and beauty is being wafted in your direction.

The young Jesus

If I peruse the Q Document which is a collation of the earliest material on Jesus, I must assume that what later became the Beatitudes were known to him before he walked around Galilee sharing them with others. Another inference is that because Jesus addresses his only known prayer to Abba he is in the habit of talking directly to Abba.

His life may, in fact, reflect a continuing dialog with the one he sees as his father.

Power

The power of blessing has hardly been tested, but I am convinced we need badly to see it and use it. I have reached my limit for this article. Next, I will share my musical notion about the power of blessing to bring about World Peace.