Seek to be a blessing

"And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake"(Gen. 30:26).

After serving Laban for years, Jacob was ready to move on and make a life of his own with his family. But Laban did not want him to leave recognizing that God had blessed him for Jacob's sake. When we are walking with God his grace will be upon our lives in such a way that others will be blessed of God through us. God's favor was upon Jacob because he was one of the Patriarchs of God's covenant people. One of the key promises of God to his covenant people was that he was not only going to bless them, but that He was going to bless the whole world through them. How was this going to be possible that the world would be blessed through Jacob (Israel)? The reason is that through the descendants of Jacob, Jesus, the savior of the world would be born. Jesus came into this world via the descendants of Jacob to redeem us from our sin through his death and resurrection. And all who trust him as savior and Lord receive the greatest blessing of knowing Him for all eternity.

Are you a recipient of God's blessings through Jesus? If you are, it should be evident to those around you that not only are you blessed of God but that they are being blessed of God because of their association with you. This was true not only of Jacob, but of Joseph as well. In Genesis we read, "The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate" (Gen. 39:2-6).

This idea of people being blessed because of their association with someone that knows the Lord, is not only an Old Testament concept. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife (believer), and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy" (1 Cor. 7:14). Here Paul is teaching that because of an unbelievers close relationship with his or her saved spouse they are sanctified or set apart. In other words, they are in a privileged position that affords them not only divine favor but the greater possibility of coming to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord. If you are saved God has you where you are so that those around you will not only see that you are the blessed of the Lord but that you would be a channel of God's blessings. The ultimate blessing that God desires to bring to others through you is a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Are you saved? If the answer is yes, then don't ever forget why God still keeps you around. You are on this earth that you might seek to be a blessing unto others in Jesus name and for His sake.