XXIX BE A BLESSING
`Get thee out of they country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee;
and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee; and be thou a
blessing.' -- Gen. 12:1,2
In these first words that God spake to
Abraham, we have the short summary of all that God has to say to him and to us
as His children. We see what the goal is to which God calls us, what the power
that carries us to that goal, and what the place where the power is found.
Be a blessing: that is the goal for which God
separates Abraham and every believing child of His.
God would have him and us made to understand
that, when he blesses us, this is certainly not simply to make us happy, but
that we should still further communicate His blessing. (Matt. 5:34,35; 10:8;
18:33) God Himself is love, and therefore He blesses. Love seeketh not
itself: when the love of God comes to us, it will seek others through us. (Isa.
43:10,11; 1 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 4:11) The young Christian must from the
beginning understand that he has received grace with the definite aim of
becoming a blessing to others. Pray, keep not for yourself what the Lord gives
to you for others. Offer yourself expressly and completely to the Lord, to be
used by Him for others: that is the way to be blessed oveflowingly yourself.
(Ps. 112:5,9; Prov. 11:24,25; Matt. 25:40; 1 Cor. 15;58; 2 Cor. 9:6; Heb.
6:10)
The power for this work will be given. `Be a
blessing': `I will bless thee,' says the Lord. You are to be personally
blessed yourself, personally sanctified and filled with the Spirit, and peace,
and power of the Lord: then you have power to bless. (Luke 24:49; John 7:38;
14:12) In Christ God has `blessed us with all spiritual things': let Jesus
fill you with these blessings, and you shall certainly be a blessing: you need
not doubt or fear. The blessing of God includes in it the power of life for
multiplication, for expansion, for communication. See in the Scriptures how
blessing and multiplication go together. (Gen. 1:22,28; 9:1; 22:17; 26:24)
Blessing always includes the power to bless others. Only give the word of the
Almighty God, `I will bless Thee,' time to sink into your spirit. Wait upon
God, that He Himself may say to you, `I will bless thee.' Let your faith
cleave fast to this. God will make it truth to you above all asking and
thinking. (2 Cor. 9:8,11; Eph. 1:3; Heb. 6:14)
But for this end you must also betake yourself
to the place of blessing: the land of promise, the simple life of faith in the
promises. `Get thee out thy land and thy father's house,' says the Lord.
Departure, separation from the life of nature and the flesh, in which we were
born of our father Adam, is what God would have. The offering up of what is
most precious to man is the way to the blessing of God. (Luke 28:29,30; John
12:24,25; 2 Cor. 6:17,18) `Get thee to a land that I will show thee,' says
the Lord, out of the old life to a new life, where I alone am your guide; that
is, a life where God can have me wholly for Himself alone, where I walk only on
the promises of God -- a life of faith.
Christian, God will in a Divine fashion fulfil
to you His promise, `I will bless thee.' O go, pray, out of your land and your
father's house, out of the life of nature and the flesh, out of intercourse
with the flesh and this world, to the New Life, the life of the Spirit, the
life in fellowship with God to which He will lead you. There you become
receptive of His blessing; there your heart becomes open to full faith in His
word, `I will bless thee'; there He can fulfil that word to you, and make you
full of His blessing and power to be a blessing to others. Live with God,
separated from the world: then shall you hear the voice of God speak with
power: `I will bless thee'; `Be thou a blessing.'
O my Father, show me the way to that promised land where Thou
bringest Thy people to have them wholly for Thyself. I will abandon everything
to follow Thee, to hold converse with Thee alone, in order that Thou mayest
fill me with Thy blessing. Lord, let Thy word, `I will bless thee,' live in my
heart as a word of God: then shall I give myself wholly to live for others and
to be a blessing. Amen.
1. God is the great, the only
Fountain of blessing: as much of God as I have in me, so much blessing can I
bring. I can work much for others without blessing. Actually to be a
blessing, I must begin with that word, `I will bless thee': then the other, `Be
a blessing' becomes easy.
2. In order to become a blessing, begin on a
small scale: yield yourself up for others. Live to make others happy. Believe
that the love of God dwells in you by the Spirit, and give yourself wholly to
be a blessing and a joy to those who are round about you. Pray God to shed
abroad His love in you still further by the Spirit. And believe very firmly
that God can make you a greater blessing than you can think, if you surrender
yourself to Him for this end.
3. But this surrender must have time in
solitary prayer, that God may obtain possession of your spirit. This is for
you the departure from your father's house: separate yourself from men that God
may speak with you.
4. What think you? Was Abraham ever filled
with regret that he placed himself so entirely under the leading of God? Then
do you likewise.
5. Do you now know the two words which are the
source of all promises and all commands to the children of believing Abraham?
The promise is: `I will bless thee.' The command is: `Be a blessing.' Pray,
take them both firmly for yourself.
6. And do you now understand where these two
words to Abraham are fulfilled? In separation from his father's house -- in
the walk in fellowship with God.