Blessed to be a Blessing

September 12, 2019 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments

Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement

When God first called Abram from his pagan lifestyle in Ur of the Chaldeans, he makes several significant promises. We read in Genesis 12:2-3: 

I will make of you a great nation,

and I will bless you and make your name great,

so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse,

and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 

God selects Abram, a man with no track record of faithfulness to God, married to a barren woman, to be the father of this choice nation of people. God promises to bless Abram, with the intention that Abram would channel that blessing to others. Abram was God’s choice as the conduit to bring the seed of the woman who would crush the work of Satan into the world (Gen. 3:15). Paul confirms this when he quotes Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:8, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’” 

To summarize:

  1. God promises to bless Abram, a promise fulfilled in covenant relationship with God.
  2. God intends that Abram would be a blessing to others, as an ambassador of the true God.
  3. God plans to use Abram’s family line as the channel to bring the Messiah into the world, the ultimate blessing. 

Did you know God makes similar promises to you and me? Of course, the Messiah has been born; the physical family line is no longer “needed” on earth. But we are still the “channel” to bring the Messiah to the world. Let me demonstrate how each of these three promises apply to us.

  1.  God blesses us through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul celebrates this in Ephesians 1:3 when he says God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.” This blessing includes the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, eternal life, inheritance in heaven, and so much more. Paul highlights that this blessing is in line with Abraham: “Those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham” (Gal. 3:9). 
  1. God has blessed us so that we may be a blessing to others. We are gifted by the Spirit for the “common good” of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:7). We are called to pray for government officials (1 Tim. 2:2). The very nature of “salt” is to preserve life and hinder decay (Matt. 5:13). The very nature of “light” is to repel darkness and provide a pathway (Matt. 5:14). We are called to be forgiving (Matt. 18:35) and kind to one another (Eph. 4:32). All of this is empowered by God’s transformative grace working in us (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10). 
  1. God uses his people still to bring the hope of Christ into the world. In the Great Commission, Jesus calls his disciples to make disciples as they go (Matt. 28:19). Paul highlights the importance of human agency in bringing the hope of the Gospel to unbelievers (Rom. 10:14-15); God has designed the advancement of the Gospel to go forth through his people. And Paul reminds us that we are “ambassadors for Christ,” representing and proclaiming his message in the world (2 Cor. 5:20). 

You have been blessed, just like Abraham, so that you will be a blessing. How have you been a blessing to others this week?

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