Genesis 12:1-3: The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
those who curse you I will curse;
all the families of the earth
will be blessed because of you.”
During the pandemic, one of the things that God has been speaking to us clearly about is that we’re “blessed to be a blessing.” This whole idea has a rich background in the Old Testament that can help us understand where we are today.
As Christians, we often call ourselves the “people of God,” and rightfully so. We are God’s people! But the whole idea of the people of God has its origins in Genesis 12, when God first called Abraham and Sarah. Abraham and Sarah were the first, original “people of God”–the first couple that God called to be his own. While others like Adam and Noah lived before Abraham, none of them were called the same way Abraham was.
God called Abraham to be the father of his people, and through him all the families and nations on earth would be blessed. This call for Abraham came in Genesis 12:1-3. There are two major parts to this call. The first is to “go” (verse 1)–“go and leave your land.” The second is to “be a blessing” (verse 2 and 3)–be a blessing to all the families/nations of the earth. So God’s call to Abraham as the father of his people was to “go and be a blessing.”
Another way to say this is that Abraham was blessed, and blessed to be a blessing! This was God’s call and command for him, way back when God first began to establish a people for himself. Through all the years and millenia of change, God’s call for his people has never changed. “Go and be a blessing.” “You’re blessed to be a blessing.” What God is speaking to us today, God spoke to Abraham at the very beginning.
So let’s be thankful today for every blessing we have. Let’s use those blessings to bless others. In doing so, we’re living out the call that God has always intended for his people–to be blessed to be a blessing.