This passage is very significant. Here we read that the Lord makes a covenantal bond with Abraham, promising to bless him and to make him the father of nations. Incredibly, this promise is given to a man who as yet had no children and little hope of having any. What is humanly impossible is not impossible with God. Abraham has a child and many descendents that form this special people of God. Abraham was not picked by God because he was special or holy. He became special and holy because he was chosen by God.

Abraham’s calling involved blessing. Did you notice that the word bless and blessing is used 5 times in these three verses? V 2 I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. The Lord places his favor on Abraham. God’s blessing is a part of the covenant that he forms with all of his people. The blessing God gives to his people shows his love for them, but it has a broader purpose. That blessing is to flow through them to the rest of the world. Abraham was blessed by God in order to be a blessing. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.

Everywhere Abraham went, he was a blessing to those he interacted with. He did not preach the gospel or build schools or hospitals, but he was a missionary. He was to bring the presence of God into every situation he found himself. Likewise, we are called to be missionaries. We may not be called to learn a foreign language and go to another country, but we are called to be a blessing and bring God’s presence everywhere we go.

How do you know if you are a blessing? You will know when people are glad they are around you. Perhaps it is because of something that you do. Perhaps it is because of who you are. Perhaps it is because others can see the reality of the grace of God in you and through you. You are called to be a blessing. You are a blessing because the Lord lives in you and has made you a blessing. Note that the Lord does not tell Abraham to try to be a blessing. Nor does he say that Abraham ought to be a blessing. He says that he will make Abraham a blessing. God will bring it about. So it is with you. If you are in Christ, you should expect to be a blessing.

The fifth time we see the word bless in these verses is in verse 3; and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. What an awesome thing this is. God desires to bless the nations of the world and he plans to do it through one man, one family, one ever-expanding people. Abraham was called to be a blessing. God’s plan of salvation for the whole human race would be funneled through this one man and his descendents. The Lord would so bless Abraham that it would spill over to the whole world. It is as though Abraham is the nozzle of the blessing hose. Through Abraham and his descendants, the world would know and receive the blessing of God.

We see how the Lord’s blessing flowed though Abraham’s life to those around him. This happened everywhere he went. Those who tried to hurt him or curse him received the curse of God. Those who blessed Abraham received the blessing of God. Abraham was golden. The Lord protected him and his family.

Look at the blessing that comes through Abraham’s descendants. The Word of God came through Moses and the prophets. Christ himself is one of Abraham’s children. And (as we read in Romans 4) all who receive God’s righteousness by faith are true spiritual children of Abraham. Every blessing that flows through me and you and the Church of Jesus is in fulfillment of this promise in verse 3.

Abraham was called to be a blessing to the whole world. As spiritual children of Abraham, that is our calling as well. That makes the missionary calling of taking the gospel to the world at the heart of who we are. You are called to be a missionary so you are to be missionary minded. You will support missions with your prayers and your money. Don’t think of your support for missions as an extra that is optional to your Christian life. It is at the heart of your calling. Remember that you are part of the blessing that passes through God’s people to the world.

Also remember that your mission to be used to bring the love and grace of Christ into the lives of people is not limited to special times and mission trips. In your everyday life, you will touch people who need to know that the love of God is real. They may need to see it in you in order to have hope that it can be real for them. Showing that hope and giving that message is your mission. It is how you are to be a blessing and part of the way God will bless the whole world.