Great Plains Daily Devotional for 3/1/2020

Genesis 12:2-3

2 I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, those who curse you I will curse; all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.

I recently attended the funeral of an extended family member. As I watched family members file into the sanctuary for the service, Abraham’s story came to mind. God promised Abraham more descendants than could be counted – and that all the families of the earth would be blessed because of Abraham. 

One person can have a huge impact on many others just in the way he or she lives. That morning I watched this man’s three children and their spouses, nine grandchildren and their spouses or significant others, and 13 great-grandchildren come to honor their father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Three of his granddaughters spoke of his profound influence in the lives of all his grandchildren. This man’s Christian walk was a visible witness to his family and to his community – from his lifelong service to his church and community to the simple act of never cutting wheat on Sunday, just because these were right ways to live. 

We all are being watched by others, each day of our lives. They observe what we do and how we live. Are we blessing others by our actions? We may not be Abraham, but we have been blessed to be a blessing to others because we are heirs of Abraham through Jesus. So do our actions, our lives, reflect the beliefs we profess as Jesus followers? I know that there are many days when I hope no one is watching me too closely!  

-- Rev. Robbie Fall, retired elder 
Hutchinson, Kansas
robbie.fall@gmail.com

Prayer for Reflection