In order to gather scattered humanity God calls Abram from his country, his kindred and his father’s house, and makes him Abraham, that is, “the father of a multitude of nations”.
“Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).
The message was given to Abraham in two simple parts – what Bob Sjogren (in his book, Unveiled at Last) calls the “top line” and the “bottom line.” The top line refers to God’s blessing of Israel. He wants to bless His people. The bottom-line responsibility reveals that He wants His people to not only enjoy that blessing, but then to turn around and be a blessing to all the families on the face of the earth, resulting in His greater glory.
Divine blessing certainly is not well understood. Often, the Old Testament Israelite had a mistaken concept of God’s blessings. The Israelites of Jesus’ day also held a distorted view of divine blessings. This is one of the reasons Jesus’ teaching and His offer of the kingdom was rejected. Jesus simply did not fit the mold of Jewish expectations. His blessings were not the kind they wanted.
Many Christians who have newly come to Christ are excited about becoming a child of God, They have been forgiven of all their transgressions. They were emboldened by their new prayer privileges and looking forward to a life of being filled with the Spirit. But they seem to have forgotten that along with the blessings comes the responsibility of making God famous to people of every tongue, tribe and nation. Missions have taken the backseat in the modern church, instead of being the motivation and end result of all we do.
The gospel isn’t simply for us • Blessed to Be a Blessing
Dare to make a difference 