“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
“I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all families on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3.
I love this. God reveals His purpose for man through His promise to Abraham. In Hebrews 6:17, we see that “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.” The reference in Hebrews 6 is to Genesis 22, where God, Abraham, and Isaac all gather on the mountain to see if Abraham is prepared to give up the son of promise, Isaac. Genesis 22, of course, also is where God states, for the third time (and HE doesn’t waste His time repeating Himself, particularly 3 times), his covenant with Abraham, a covenant all followers of Jesus have inherited through His blood. Galatians 3:10-29.
So, in Genesis 12:1-3, God reveals His purpose for mankind. We later learn Jesus is the culmination of God’s promise. God covenants with us to bless us so that we will be (1) a blessing to all the earth (international missions), (2) a blessing to all families (ministering to families, clans, and people groups – family ministry), and (3) a blessing, period (sharing the good news of Jesus and bringing God’s justice to the world).
I definitely see a pattern here: Blessed to be a blessing; blessed to be a blessing to families; blessed to be a blessing to the world. Blessed to bring the good news of Jesus to the world; blessed to strengthen families and relationships, the building blocks of society; and blessed to bring justice and family to the oppressed and the orphan. We are blessed with Jesus so that we can demonstrate Jesus to the world.
Interestingly, the Hebrew word bless has a lot to do with kneeling or to be broken down. To be blessed means to kneel before God or to submit oneself to Him. God demonstrates that as we submit to His authority we are useful to His divine purpose and will be a leader by serving Him to bring others to do the same. We are blessed by submitting our lives, our families, and our hopes and dreams to the One who gives Life, the One who made Family, the One who is Hope, and the Greatest Dreamer of all. As we do this we show others the Way to the Father, just as Jesus did 2000 years ago.