Still blessed, and still a blessing

After Lot had left, the LORD said to Abram; ‘From where you are, look carefully in all directions. I am going to give you and your descendants all the land that you see, and it will be yours forever. I am going to give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all; it would be as easy to count all the specks of dust on earth! Now, go and look over the whole land, because I am going to give it all to you.’  (verses 14-17)

Read Genesis 13:1-18

What a contrast. One man who worships the Lord in gratitude for the way he’s been blessed, and, to solve a crisis, allows the other to take what he wants. The other who selfishly chooses the best, and risks contact with evil people to get what he wants. As the story later shows, one of them gets himself into all kinds of trouble; the other continues to be blessed by God.

But it still must have taken a lot of faith on the part of Abram. Here he was, listening to God promise him the earth and a family of descendants too numerous to count – and his wife was still barren and he had no son. The fulfilment of God’s promises must have seemed a long way off.                                                                     .

Throughout history faithful people have sometimes challenged God with the question, ‘Why are sinners the ones who seem to prosper?’ A look around at our society suggests that nothing has changed. Abram, who knew he was blessed by God continued to be generous and continued to prosper.

God blesses us too with more than we need. We too can afford to be generous. We have a ministry to people who need God’s grace, including those who believe they don’t need it.

Father you have blessed me with spiritual blessings beyond compare and with material goods enough to share. Grant me Abram’s generous spirit. Amen.

by Bob Turnbull, in ‘God’s Promises for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1999)

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