"And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing ... and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
(Genesis 12:2 & 3b)
Well, the ESV and KJV say all families (Genesis 12:1-3). Other versions say all people. Either way, the point is made. Through Abraham's seed would come a blessing for everyone.
Bible students know this blessing was God's own son, Jesus Christ. Abraham followed God. Because of his faithfulness, God kept his promise. Abraham's family did indeed become a great nation - the nation of Israel.
Throughout the Old Testament this nation of people - this family of Abraham's forgot God's laws over and over again. When they fell into sin, God withheld His blessings from them. They would repent and come back to Him. In turn, He blessed them with prosperity and peace.
I think sometimes the people of Israel forgot the second part of that promise..... you know --the part about all the nations of the earth being blessed through their nation.
When Christ began His ministry there was a lot of enmity between Jews and non-Jewish people -- otherwise called Gentiles.
And then there were the Samaritans - the racially mixed people with both Jewish and pagan (Gentile) ancestry. The Jews didn't like them either, and that's putting it very lightly. So the promise of Abraham's family (nation) being a blessing to other families had long been forgotten.
Then Christ came and things changed. The Savior turned the world upside down. He confronted the scribes and Pharisees who were always so proud to say they were "of the seed of Abraham."
Christ was the Son of God. He was of Jewish descent -- but He didn't come for just one race. He came for "all families of the earth." Jesus Himself said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:16-17 ESV).
So many lessons -- so much can be gained from these two verses. We could talk about the meaning of truly believing means more than just knowing who He is - but also being willing to follow Him. We could talk about so much from these verses. They are truly loaded with meaning.
But the point I want to make right now is that God loves ALL people -- and always has. He has always wanted ALL people to follow Him. God does not want any to perish, He wants us all to repent. (2 Peter 3:9) As I recently saw on a post on social media - God saves souls not skins.
God and His Son is all about love. Christ died for all people no matter what their color -- no matter what their profession -- no matter where they live -- no matter what their political status. Christ showed compassion to the woman caught in adultery and to Zaccheus, the hated tax collector. Another tax collector (Matthew or Levi) was one of His chosen twelve.
Jesus chose ordinary fisherman to serve Him and he healed the Gentile centurion's servant. He loved men and women. He loved the rich young ruler - although he walked away from Jesus very sad. But yet another rich man loved Christ enough to bury Him in his own tomb.
Do you see what I'm trying to say? WE are the promise to Abraham. Christians .... because we have obeyed Christ and followed Him ... because we have chosen to love Him. And WE come from all races and all walks of life ... from all ethnic backgrounds. We are the "all families of the earth."
See, in choosing to follow Christ - we fulfill God's promise to Abraham. And our lives should be marked by love -- the same love God showed to all of us when He sent His Son. Christ said:
" A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this ALL people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13: 34-35)
Yes, Abraham's righteousness was a blessing to us. And now because as Christians, we are the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham -- we must continue the promise. We must be a blessing to others - because we are to do good to ALL men. We must show the world who we are -- by blessing others with the same love wherewith He loved us.
Brothers and sisters in Christ --as part of God's loving promise if the world ever needed us, it needs us now.
Christ above all things,
Robin
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