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Blessed to be a blessing

 

So, where do we get the common phrase, "blessed to be a blessing"?  The idea comes originally from the book of Genesis where God appears to Abraham.

 “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And 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.” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV)

If you think about it, this is a pretty radical idea. Not only does almighty God want to bless those who respond in faith, but also that He wants to work through us to bless others!

1.      God wants to bless us.

Our heavenly Father loves us dearly as any father would love their very own children.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV)

 This love is expressed in a variety of ways.  First and foremost, He shows His love through sending His dear Son, Jesus, to die in our place for the forgiveness of sin.  But there is additional blessing for those who receive Christ as Savior and Lord. We experience a new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We become a child of God (John 1:12).  We become a member of God's forever family (1  Peter 2:9).  All this happens for each of us THE MOMENT we turn to Christ and trust Him as our Savior.

 And like Abraham, who responded in faith, we discover many wonderful blessings as we grow in Christ. Consider the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus repeatedly promised blessings by saying, "blessed are you when…" (I count 9 times)

And the Apostle Paul boldly proclaims blessing to all in Christ…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 3:1-6, ESV)

 So why is it often difficult to recognize the blessing He bestows?

We have trouble truly believing God loves us. We may dwell on our past sins more than we meditate on God's love and forgiveness.  This leads us to conclude that we do not deserve His blessing.  Of course we do not deserve these things!  That's why it is by grace. Grace is undeserved favor.  If we think we can be good enough to earn God's favor, we are sorely mistaken.

 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:11-12, ESV)

If we forget that salvation is a gift of grace, then we may continually try to repent of sin and strive harder to live an exemplary life.  Though this seems admirable, it is foolish.  Why would we think we can please God through our own fleshly efforts.  Consider Romans 7:21-25:

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

2.      We often misunderstand God's blessings.

 Often, we are so earthly minded that we expect blessings only in the form of material or temporal things.  We may expect health, wealth, notoriety or fame.  We may expect a perfect marriage and family.  Now I must be very careful on this point.  God may choose to bless us with these things, as He did Abraham, but it would be wrong to assume they have been promised us.  And there is certainly nothing wrong with praying for your needs- but not your greeds!

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:3, ESV) 

3.      We are blessed to be a blessing!

There is a beautiful end to this story.  By grace, God has chosen to bless His children.  And when we are benefactors of his grace, we will want to extend grace and mercy to others.  Not only is His blessing meant to enrich your own life, but the gifts He bestows serve to teach us to be other-centered, not self-centered.  If we simply hoard God's blessing for self, we have missed the whole point. 

Abraham was blessed to be a blessing.  Through him every nation on earth would be blessed.  Through him would come the Messiah.  But even in everyday things Abraham showed a noble and generous spirit.  This is seen clearly in his relationship with others: 

  1. Generosity and peacemaking with Lot (Genesis 13:5-12)
  2. Rescuing Lot and the people of Sodom (Genesis 14:13-16)
  3. Hospitality to strangers (Genesis 18:1-8)
  4. Interceding for Sodom (Genesis 18:16-33)

4.      So, what about you? 

  • Are you truly experiencing God's love and grace?
  • Can you identify specific ways in which you have been "blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ" as Ephesians talks about?
  • How about in practical ways?  How is God blessing your everyday life?
  • But most importantly, how are you blessing others?
  • Who is someone you can bless today?  How do you intend to do it? 

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. (Proverbs 11:25, ESV)

 

All passages in this post were taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025).

 

 


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