Blessed to Be a Blessing

From the beginning, God’s blessing was never meant to stop with one person, one family, or one nation.

When God called Abraham, he gave him a promise. Abraham would be blessed. His name would become great. A people would come from him. But the promise was never only about Abraham. God’s blessing came with a purpose: through Abraham, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

That means God’s global heart is not a later addition to the story of Scripture. It is there from the beginning.

Sometimes we can think of faith in mostly personal terms. We ask, “What is God doing in my life? How is God helping me grow? How is God blessing me?” Those are good and important questions. God does meet us personally. He cares about our lives, our families, our pain, our growth, and our obedience.

But Genesis 12 reminds us that God’s blessing is never meant to end with us. God blesses so that blessing can flow outward. He forms a people not so they can exist for themselves, but so they can become part of his purposes for the world.

This changes the way we understand discipleship. Growing in faith is not only about becoming more spiritually mature as an individual. It is about having our hearts shaped by the purposes of God. And the purposes of God have always included the nations.

A narrow faith receives God’s blessing and holds it close. A global faith receives God’s blessing and asks, “Lord, how do you want this blessing to flow through me for the sake of others?”

This does not mean every Christian must move overseas or become an expert in world Christianity. But it does mean every Christian is invited to see their life inside the larger story of God’s redemptive purpose for all peoples.

The question “How global is your faith?” begins here: Do I see God’s blessing as something mainly for me, or as something that draws me into God’s love for the world?

Reflect

1. When you think about God’s blessing in your life, do you tend to think mostly personally, or also globally?
2. What would change if you saw your faith as part of God’s promise to bless all the families of the earth?
3. Where might your faith be deep, but still narrow in its concern for others?

Pray

Lord, thank you for the blessing of knowing you. Forgive me for the ways I may have treated your blessing as something meant only for me. Open my eyes to your heart for all peoples. Help me see my life, my church, and my discipleship as part of your greater purpose to bless the nations. Amen.