Be Thou a Blessing

Yahweh said to Abraham, "Leave your country, your father's family and the people you grew up with, and go to the land I will show  you.  I will make you the father of a great nation.  I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing to many nations" (Gen. 12:1-2).

 

C.S.Lewis tells us that many people believe that Christianity means that if we do good on earth, we will be rewarded in heaven, and if we fail to do good, then we will go to hell.  But Lewis says it's not at all like that.  Rather, every time we choose the good, we turn the central part of ourselves, the part that chooses, towards the good.  And every time we choose evil, we turn the central part of ourselves towards the evil.  In the end, we become in our core what we have chosen to be.

 

From Abraham to Revelation, the Bible is the story of God's choosing to bless people, whoever they are, so that they in turn can become a blessing on the earth.  If we recall The Lion King, we can clearly see those who bless the earth with fruitfulness, productivity, and joy, and those whose evil dries up the earth and causes famine throughout the land.  As I look around, I see people who are on their way to becoming what they choose -- for good or for evil.  They will either be a blessing to those around them, or they will become a curse to all who know them. 

 

In the story of Jacob, his very name given from birth meant "cheater," 'grabber," "usurper."  He lived up to his name by grabbing his brother's inheritance and his father's blessing by deceit.  But as he fled from his brother's anger, God met him on the way and made to him the same promise He had made to Abraham -- I will bless you, and you will be a blessing.  Jacob at that moment entered into a covenant with God:  If you will go with me, and provide for me, and guide me safely back to my father's house, I will give you a tenth of all you give me.  From that time on, Jacob walked with God, sat with God, and stood with God.  In other words, He lived his life -- but with God's companionship and partnership.  In the end, he blessed his brother Esau tenfold for all that he had taken from him. 

 

The way of the Lord is always the way of promise.  God steps into a person's life and makes a promise.  The person of faith is the one who accepts that promise and expects it to be fulfilled. (Richard Rohr: The Great Themes of Scripture- OT - p. 95).

 

It is not difficult to live one's life in the Presence and Partnership of God.  Basically, we walk with Him, sit with Him, and stand with Him.  And we allow Him to do what He will -- which will inevitably be a blessing for us.  He waters the land the walk on; He sits with us in peace and friendship; and He stands with us against the evil powers that threaten to invade our lives.  And because He is with us, just as he promised, our lives in turn become a blessing to many.