Today’s Scripture: Genesis 12:2
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
Edward W. Bok tells an interesting story on being a blessing to others in his book Perhaps I Am. Two young students of Stanford University were in a desperate situation; they needed some money to pay their board and tuition fees. So they devised an idea to engage Paderewski for a piano recital and use the profits to save their education. Paderewski’s manager asked for a guarantee of $2,000. The students, undaunted, proceeded to stage the concert. But in the end, they came up short. So they sought the great artist and told him of their efforts and results. They gave him what they had and promised to pay the rest later. But Paderewski returned the money, and let them off the hook. Years later, Paderewski became Premier of Poland, and a great famine hit the nation after the war. He desperately needed help to feed his people. And there was only one man in the world that could help, the American President, Herbert Hoover. He sent thousands of tons of food into Poland for distribution. After the starving people were fed, Paderewski went to thank Herbert Hoover for the relief sent him. “That’s all right, Mr. Paderewski,” Hoover replied. “Besides, you don’t remember it, but you helped me once when I was a student at college and I was in a hole.”
Paderewski had the privilege of a unique gift and an opportunity to use it to help some young lads get an opportunity to be something in life. One of them turned out really great and gained an opportunity to bless Paderewski in return. In a similar sense, the blessing is a privilege graciously given to us in Christ and, as we find opportunities to be a blessing to others, we will increasingly see the fruits of God’s blessing manifested in our lives.
The truth is, the blessing is not for the purpose of our personal aggrandisement. It is to enable us accomplish our assignments in life. And you cannot be fulfilling your assignment and not be a blessing to humanity.
God has blessed you to be a blessing. He has chosen you to be a part of His mission to save humanity through Christ Jesus and to alleviate the condition of many. The ultimate way to be a blessing to others is to reach them with the good news of Jesus Christ. By getting them saved in Christ, we get them to become direct heirs of the blessing with the capacity to also become a blessing to others. This is our duty in the covenant. We must reach out to help those in need, and reach out to win as many to Christ as we can. This week, and always, let us make this a priority. The Lord will increase us in His rich blessings, in Jesus’ name.
Memorize & Meditate:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Prayer/Confession:
Grant me the grace Lord to be conscious of my responsibility to be a blessing, and help me to fulfill it. I have been blessed to be a blessing. I am a blessing to people. I am a blessing to my generation, in Jesus’ name.
