Jan-Mar 2023-BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING
Blessed to Be a Blessing
I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing! (Genesis 12:2)
Greetings to you all in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ! God has graciously given us another year in our life. The Lord has promised that he will bless us and make us a blessing to many in this year.
God blesses us in many ways, for the purpose of us passing these blessings on to others. We are to be like the sluices in a dam, pouring out its abundant water to those in need. We are to be a church of blessing! We see this principle illustrated in the life of Abram. Spiritually, we are Abraham's seed and we inherit this promise (Galatians 3:29).
- The Priceless Blessing
First, we must acknowledge the greatest blessing that Abram experienced was salvation. Abram was an unbeliever, deserving of divine wrath; a man who was guilty of idolatry (Joshua 24:2). And yet God graciously chose to have a relationship with him. God chose to save him; God chose to sovereignly call Abram out of the power of darkness unto the kingdom of His dear Son. That is blessing indeed! God says, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” (Gen. 15:7). The greatest blessing in this world is the blessing of salvation from sin. The Bible says, “what does it profit to gain the whole world and yet to lose one’s soul?”
- The Provisional Blessings
We can look further at some other blessings that Abram was given.
A Spouse: Genesis 12:5 tells us that Abram was also blessed with a gift of spouse—Sarai (later, Sarah). The Word commends her as a beautiful woman (12:11) but, more importantly, she was beautiful in her spirit (1 Peter 3:5-6) and in her spirituality (Hebrews 11:11). Abram was indeed blessed with a wonderful wife.
Substance: God blessed Abram with substance. Abram travelled with quite a lot of “substance” and we know from 13:2 that Abram was very wealthy. Truly, Abram was blessed, and perhaps even increasingly, with great substance.
Souls: Abraham was given the blessing of “people or servants” (12:5). He went with a fairly large crowd of people to Canaan. He had been blessed with personnel for the task ahead.
Success: Abram, according to 12:5, was further blessed with success. He set out for Canaan and into the land of Canaan he came. He was able to finish what he started to do!
Son. In Genesis 21:1-3, God blessed Abraham with a son of promise. The blessing of a child and heir is a promise of God’s word (Ps. 127:4).
Significance: God told Abraham that he will make his name great. Here is a list of the “great names” given to Abraham: God’s friend (James. 2:23), Father of many nations (Gen. 17:5), Father of all who believe (Rom. 4:11).
Abraham was blessed abundantly. In addition to the greatest blessing of salvation, he was blessed with a spouse, with substance, with souls (servants), with success, with significance and with a son. If we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. May the Lord grant all these blessings in our lives in this year!
- The Purpose of the Blessings
The Bible says that the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things (Genesis 24:1). But the question must be answered, “For what purpose?” What was the reason for all of these blessings? Were they simply for Abram’s sake, for the enriching of his life alone? Perhaps our self-absorbed culture would respond with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” But the text of Scripture will not allow it. For the Scripture says in Genesis 12:2, “And You will be a blessing,” and 12:3 adds, “and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” God plainly states that He is not merely blessing Abram for Abram’s own sake, but so that Abram will be a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (12:3).
God saves us to save others. God blesses us with substance and other things so that we will use them for the blessing of others and for the expansion of His kingdom!
- The Price to Be a Blessing
Finally, we need to know what it will take to be a blessing in the face of being blessed. From the life of Abraham, I want to highlight three things!
Obedience. In Abraham, we see the very pinnacle of human obedience (Gen. 11:4; 22:17,18; 26:4,5; Heb. 11:8). He exhibits very clearly that God is first in his life. To the degree that we obey Him, to that degree we will be a blessing.
Altar. Another important aspect in Abraham’s life is altar (Gen. 12: 7,8; 13:18). Wherever he went, he built altars for God. It signifies his relationship with God. We must have personal altar and family altar. Repair your broken altars and always keep a healthy and consistent relationship with God
Faith. Abraham was a man of faith (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:17-21; Heb. 11:8-10). We must have strong faith in the person of God and promises of God.
