Blessed to be a Blessing

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

God has blessed us with many physical and spiritual blessings.  These blessings are gifts from God, and are not meant for our selfish use.  God blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others.

When God told Abraham to “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you”, He also made a promise saying “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing… and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:2). God made His intentions very clear to Abraham when He promised to bless him. Abraham went as God commanded and God blessed him so that he will, in turn, become a blessing to others.  God wanted to bless all the peoples on the earth and He chose Abraham to be the channel of that blessing.  God made it clear that Abraham and his descendants would be instruments of blessing to others and through whom eventually the Messiah would bring salvation to all humanity.

In 2 Kings 7, we see a very fascinating story of four lepers, who became a blessing for many people in Samaria.  The city of Samaria was under siege and these four lepers sat at the gate starving.  Because of the siege there was severe famine in the city and women even cooked and ate their own children to survive. Meanwhile, Prophet Elisha had predicted something seemingly impossible that the next day food would be available in Samaria at very reasonable prices.  These lepers thought if they stayed at the gate, they would starve to death and if they went into the enemy camp, they might be killed.  But they took a chance and went over to the enemy camp thinking that the army might take pity on them and give them some food. When they reached the enemy camp, they were shocked to see that the camp was deserted, as God had created confusion in the enemy camp.  They ate all that they could eat and then they said to each other: “We are not doing right.  This is a day of good news, and we are keeping silent.”  They went back and reported this good news in the city. As a result, all the people in the city could find enough food for themselves. That is how these poor lepers could become a blessing for the hungry people in the city!

We are entrusted with the Good News for the people who are starving. God has not only blessed us with many material blessings, but also with spiritual blessings.  We have received everything needed for a comfortable living.  We have also received the greatest gift of salvation.  Unfortunately, we do not share it with others, but keep it for ourselves.  God has blessed us so that we will be a blessing. We are blessed to be a blessing.

An African proverb says: “There is only one crime worse than murder on the desert, and that is to know where the water is and not tell others.” We have found Christ, the Living water.  Jesus said: “Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (Jn.7:38).  God wants this living water flows from us to others.  We are saved not to sit comfortably in our lifeboats and enjoy this life.  God saved us so that His blessings can flow to others through us.  He said: “I will save you so that you will be a blessing” (Zech. 8:13).  

Are you blessed?  There is an old hymn which says: “Count your blessings; name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

If we sit down and count only the physical/material blessings that we have received from God, we will indeed be surprised.  But, unfortunately we either do not have time to think of God’s blessings, or we take them for granted.  If you are the person who is always murmuring and complaining about things you do not have, take a couple of minutes to do this simple exercise.  You will be surprised to know that you are blessed.  This data is based on a study conducted in the US.

• If you have food on your table, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a bed to sleep in, you are in the top 25% of the world population.   Are you blessed?
• If you have some money in the bank, or in your wallet, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.  Are you blessed?
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are better off than five hundred million people in the world today.  Are you blessed?
• If you can attend a worship service without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are more blessed than three billion people on this earth.   Are you blessed?

You will realise that you are more blessed than millions of people living on the earth.  You have money in your Bank account or in your wallet, food to eat, and a place to lay your head.  Don’t you think you are blessed because you have a place and the freedom to worship God?

We complain and murmur because either we do not value God’s blessings, or we take them for granted. Let us stop murmuring and worship God acceptably with a grateful heart.

Remember that God has blessed us to be a blessing.  Along with all good things, He has blessed us with the gift of salvation and the hope of glory.  When we enjoy all these blessings from God, know that they are God’s gifts and remember the less fortunate, since they are intended to be shared with others.  God chose to bless us so that, in turn, we become a blessing to others.

You are blessed to be a blessing!

Yours in Christ

Pastor M. A. Jacob