“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Ge 12:3 AV)
There is more going on here than meets the eye. God is giving Abraham a promise that in him, all the families of the earth will be blessed. This is not limited to physical blessings. The LORD would and will make a great nation from the descendants of Abraham from Isaac to be specific. The promise is one of the divine blessing and protection of Israel. The promise is God’s blessing on those peoples and nations that treat His people with fairness and kindness. But, again, there is more going on here. The book of Galatians teaches that all who have trusted Christ by faith are of the lineage of Abraham. Those who followed his pattern of faith have also imputed the righteousness of Christ upon their souls. In short, Abraham blessed the world because he chose to set an example of faith that all others could follow. All the families of the world are blessed by Abraham because he chose to trust and follow God by faith.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Abraham. One we should repay by doing so to others as he has done for us. A legacy of faith is the ultimate inheritance one can leave his family. A lot of what we do is motivated by the examples others leave behind. Many interests of our children have come from us. If we express an interest in something, they will explore that same interest. Spiritually speaking this is also true. Our children and grandchildren will see what we value and follow in our footsteps. We can live in faith and obedience the and LORD rewards us with children who do the same. Or, we could live in self-gratification and ease while we lose our children to the world. Setting an example cannot be understated. Just think of the impact Abraham had on the entire world. So too, do I dare say, that many do not know of the story of Abraham and Isaac. Yet, they do know what faith looks like. Many have never heard of the grace that can be found in Christ, but almost all understand some things must be accepted even though we cannot fully understand them. This issue of faith was settled thousands of years ago by the example of one man who decided to take God at His word and trust Him completely. We get our example of sin from our first parents. Adam and Eve set the precedent of self-determination. They passed down a legacy of failure and tragedy. Abraham reversed that. He trusted in God and all who follow have that same opportunity.
What we do, matters. The example we set matters. We cannot hope to enjoy godly children and grandchildren if we are not willing to pay the price required to enjoy such a family. I am so grateful Abraham decided to trust. He was willing to plunge the dagger into his son to prove God was faithful. He chose to leave his entire future in the hands of God. Because he did, we have the comfort that we can do the same. It is this example-setting that is the point this morning. If Abraham was willing to trust the LORD in the hardest of times, setting an example for us to follow, then what is hindering us from doing the same for those who will follow us? Praise the LORD for Abraham. We owe him our souls. May the same be said of us who call us Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa.
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