Good Things Happen to Other People
Do you ever have that feeling that good things only happen to other people? Your friends are the ones who take the cool vacations, your coworkers are the ones who get promoted, your neighbors seem to be getting new stuff all the time?
Much can be said about finding contentment in spite of all that, but have you ever noticed that we often read the Bible the same way? Good things happen to people in the Bible, not to us. Moses parts the sea, David conquers Goliath, Solomon gets to be the rich king, and Peter walks on water. Without realizing it, we can often read things and turn the whole story into a bit of a fairytale since nothing like that happens to us.
Consider the person of Abraham in the Old Testament. Along with Moses, he’s a big deal. Even today he is highly esteemed by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. Abraham had his own lucky moment through an unbelievable promise God gave to him. It is repeated often in the text, but we first find it in Genesis chapter twelve.
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.’ (Genesis 12:1-3).
Ever had God make a promise to YOU like that? That you will multiply, thrive, and become famous? Me neither. Add it to the running list of good things happening to others.
But here’s the crazy thing. If you keep reading the Bible you get to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. In chapter three he makes an unbelievable claim… that the promises to Abraham apply to us if we follow Jesus. Sound strange? Notice the THREE times he says it in one chapter:
- “So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith” (Galatians 3:9).
- “Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham…” (Galatians 3:14).
- “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:29).
Almost sounds like Paul is really trying to make sure we don’t miss this reality. Abraham’s promise applies to us? It’s like finding out your spouse won the lottery and then realizing that means you did too.
Now before you think I’m going to start preaching the prosperity Gospel, let’s revisit Abraham’s promise from God and I’ll highlight different words this time.
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.’ (Genesis 12:1-3).
God’s intent in blessing Abraham and the Jewish nation all throughout the Old Testament was always so that they would be a blessing to others. If we want to pick up this blessing in Jesus today we need to make sure we pick this part up as well. It’s an incredibly simple way of understanding the Good News that Jesus is all about. Let’s live in such a way that others are blessed in their experiences with us.
What if we were a blessing to the people around us? What if all the families on earth were blessed through us?
In Jesus, good things happen to others not APART from us but THROUGH us.
We don’t watch with envy from a distance. We participate actively and experience the joy ourselves.
We get to share the hope and encouragement we’ve found in Jesus. We get to share beauty in the face of suffering and loss. We get to share a perspective of broken things being made right. We choose others first because we no longer have to look out for ourselves. We’re the ones who know there’s even better news waiting for us around the next corner. And we can let others in on the secret: the promise is for them too.
In Jesus, good things happen to others not apart from us but through us. Share on X
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