Mondo Blessing

Advent – Day Four:

Genesis 12.3 3 And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

It was God’s intention from the very beginning to bless the earth and all who lived upon her. When God created the heaven’s and the earth the only purpose He had in mind was to bless all of creation with Himself. God is infinitely wonderful (times infinity). There is no end to His wonder and blessing; there is no end to the marvel of His creation. He is the infinite Good and the Eternal good time. I pity those who think He is nothing more than a grouch and a downer. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So centuries into the thing, long after Adam and Eve have finally passed away, there is this man named Abram. (Abram means exalted father. Family is something we in the west have so underrated.) And Abram is told by God one day:

Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house,

to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

What could be so big that all the families of the earth would be blessed? What kind of blessing would be enough to bless all of the families of the entire earth?  And what kind of blessing would it have to be to endure? God. God is that blessing. Only God can meet the needs of every family in the entire world and bless them forever. Only God can do that!

And centuries later, long after Abraham (the father of many [nations]) passed away, in a tiny little village in the countryside of a tiny little country called Israel a Blessing was born to a teenaged girl named Mary who just happened to be pregnant when a Roman emperor decided to count his chickens (take a census of his empire). And because this big-shot wanted to know how much he had, he forced everyone to go to their ancestral home and be counted. Do you know how hard that was to do? What a colossal endeavor…

And while she (Mary) was there, she gave birth to a Blessing: so big that not even the whole universe could contain it. And the Blessing was a tiny little baby she named Jesus Immanuel. The Blessing is so big it takes away the sin of all mankind. What would this Christmas be if there was no sin in the world; if we were able to tell the truth, forgive, and make everything right? Heck yeah, we’d be giving presents! That would be a blessing! A Mondo Blessing!

The Baby’s name was Jesus (he will save his people from sin) Immanuel (God with us). God with us! How much more blessed could we be!? All because one day, God said to a guy named Abram (Abraham), “…in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Wow!

God started with Abram, but He continues with us and the Blessing never ends. How can we, this Christmas, bless and be blessed? What are ways we can share the Blessing of Abraham? It’s what we’re called to do and what God wants us to do. Maybe we can start by telling the truth and forgiving those who’ve wronged us; that they may forgive us our wrongs…whatcha think?