Genesis 12:1–9 and Matthew 28:16–20

I have been thinking about blessings—blessings given and blessings received.

When we hear the word blessing, we may think about family and friends, a safe home, meaningful work, enough food, a caring church community or simply the gift of another day. Some blessings arrive with great joy. Others are quiet and easily overlooked until we pause long enough to recognize them.

But what happens after we receive a blessing? How do we answer God?

Our first response may be, “Thank you.” Gratitude matters. Yet Scripture shows us that God’s blessings are rarely intended to stop with the person who receives them. A blessing is placed into our hands so that it can move through our hands into the lives of others.

Receive the Blessing

God said to Abram:

“I will bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Before Abram accomplished anything, God made a promise. The blessing began with God.

The same is true for us. Before we serve, give or go, we first receive. We receive life, grace, forgiveness and the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we become so focused on what we should be doing for God that we forget what God has already done for us.

Who has blessed you along the way? Who prayed for you, encouraged you or taught you? Who welcomed you when you felt alone? Who showed you forgiveness when you needed another chance?

Some blessings become clear only when we look back and realize that God was present through a person, a conversation, an opportunity or even a difficult season that helped shape us.

Our first response is to recognize the blessing and say, “Thank you, God. I see what you have given me.”

But God’s promise does not end with “I will bless you.” God continues: “So that you will be a blessing.”

Become the Blessing

Abram was not blessed simply so that his own life would be comfortable. God blessed him so that all the families of the earth might be blessed through him.

The blessing came with a purpose.

This gives us a deeper question to consider. It is not only, “How has God blessed me?” It is also:

Who might God be seeking to bless through me?

Perhaps God has given you wisdom gathered through years of living. That wisdom may help someone facing a difficult decision.

Perhaps you have experienced grief and discovered that God can carry us through it. Your presence may comfort someone who has recently suffered a loss.

Perhaps someone once welcomed, encouraged or forgave you. Now you have an opportunity to offer that same gift to another person.

We may believe that we have little to offer, especially when our energy, health or circumstances have changed. But God’s calling does not come with an age limit.

A telephone call can be a blessing.

A card can be a blessing.

A meal, a prayer or a listening ear can be a blessing.

Sharing a story of faith with a younger person can be a blessing.

We become a blessing whenever God’s love reaches another person through us.

Carry the Blessing Into the World

Many generations after Abram, Jesus stood before his disciples and said:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

God told Abram, “Go.”

Jesus told his disciples, “Go.”

The promise given to Abram and the Great Commission given to the disciples belong to the same story. God promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abram. Jesus then sent his followers to carry his way of love to all nations.

The Great Commission is about more than filling church buildings. Jesus calls us to help others discover and live his way:

Love God.

Love your neighbour.

Welcome the stranger.

Feed the hungry.

Forgive one another.

Care for those who are vulnerable.

Serve rather than seeking to be first.

Sometimes “go” means travelling across the world. More often, it means crossing the smaller distances that separate us from one another.

Go across the room and speak to the person standing alone.

Go to the telephone and call someone who has been absent.

Go beyond an old disagreement and take the first step toward reconciliation.

Go into your community and listen to what people need.

There is something wonderfully reassuring in this passage. Matthew tells us that when the disciples saw Jesus, they worshipped him—but some doubted.

Some doubted, and Jesus still sent them.

They did not have perfect faith or all the answers. Yet Jesus entrusted his mission to them. We do not need to be perfectly prepared before God can work through us. We offer what we have, and God uses it.

Abram received a call and a promise: “Go, and I will bless you.”

The disciples also received a call and a promise: “Go, and remember that I am with you always.”

That promise belongs to us too.

We receive the blessing.

We become the blessing.

We carry the blessing into the world.

This Week

Name one blessing God has placed in your life. Give thanks for it—and then find one way to pass that blessing along.

Through a kind word, a telephone call, a prayer or a helping hand, let someone experience God’s love through you.

We are blessed to be a blessing—and Christ goes with us.

Rev. Pastor Barb