“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3
Pay it forward.
In simplest terms, it means to pass along a blessing.
You take something given to you and then you pass it along to someone else.
Imagine you are sitting in a drive-thru line to pick up a quick lunch. You reach the cashier window and you are told the person in front of you already paid for your order! Wow, what a treat. An example of ‘pay it forward’ would be to replicate the act of generosity for the car behind you. (Hopefully, it isn’t a family of eight!)
In today’s scriptures, Abraham is called to a brand-new land and is promised God’s blessing. Not only that, but his blessing will become a blessing for the entire world!
God’s design was for the heirs of Abraham, the Jews, to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6). Along the way, they began to be proud of their “chosen-ness” rather than remembering they were blessed in order to be a blessing to those who do not know God.
God still calls each of us with the promise of His blessing. And He doesn’t bless us to hoard them. Our blessings are to be shared with others. Christians have the same issues as their forefathers: God blesses us with salvation, forgiveness, eternal life, and Christian fellowship.
Then, what do we do? We forget to pass the blessings along!
So, here’s some sage advice:
- Are you blessed with wealth? Bless others.
- Do you have a unique gift or skill set? Bless others.
- Have you been blessed with retirement? Find ways to bless others.
- And most importantly, have you been forgiven and redeemed by Jesus? Bless others and share the Good News.
In other words…Pay it forward!
Taken from a sermon by Bryant Wright, Founder, RFTH
DIG DEEPER
Read “Blessing Received – Blessing Shared” also by Bryant Wright
