Do you live in the reality that you are tied to and a descendent of Abraham? In Genesis 12 the Lord spoke to Abraham and told him to “go” leave all that is comfortable to you, your home country, your people, and your family “and go to the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1). God sent Abraham as a missionary, a cross cultural worker outside his home and culture to a people of another “land”.
God tells him I will bless you and make you into a great nation and your name will be great and you will be a blessing, and: “all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12: 2,3). That “great nation” are his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky (Gen 15: 4). That is us today! We are the descendants of Abraham and are all sent and spread out to “go” and bless others, all the people of the earth.
Fast forward to the apostle Peter addressing the “men of Israel” in Acts 3. In verse 17 he addresses the “brothers” the onlookers, the people of God coming to worship at the temple.
Peter reminds them that they just crucified the Messiah (Acts 3: 12-15), Jesus, the one the prophets wrote about in their scriptures. He goes over the gospel with them and then tells them “you are heirs of the prophets” (Acts 3: 25) and reminds them of the promise made to Abraham that: “through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed’.
He further reminds them (and us today!) that: “When God raised up his servant he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:26). That “servant” is Jesus who was sent to us to redeem us. So, we who have accepted his grace now go and pass that blessing to others.
Wherever God sends us, whatever we do, wherever we live and work we are being sent to bless others. We are in a sense “blessing-aries” to continue the blessing of Abraham to all peoples of the earth. Let’s do it!
Barnabas Man 