God flavours – we are blessed, and there is a point to it
Genesis 12:1-3; 18:18; Galatians 3:6-14; John 3:16-17

Genesis 12 To me it’s clear – our purpose in life is to bring God’s blessing into the lives of unsuspecting ordinary people going on with their everyday lives all around us. To let them know they matter and that there is a great point to their continued existence upon this planet. But first we need to be sure in our minds about a few things. God says to Abraham He will bless him and the nation that forms around him – we are supposed to be Abraham’s heirs because of our faith-filled embrace of God’s promise in Jesus, His unique Son.
So here it is; How are we blessed? Has God fulfilled His promise to Abraham? How do we experience that blessing? Is it just now and then, a flash in the pan; or is it just a matter of perception (you know, I’m blessed if I feel I’m blessed); or is it something that’s going on whether we can see and taste it or not? Do you feel blessed at all?
1. The Joy of being a part of the amazing creative work of God who continually reveals Himself as Love. The wide and stunning variety and complexity and strange interrelationship of all things created (and that is ALL things.)
2. The joy and challenges and struggles of being part of the human race, and of at least one of the many varied and fascinating communities that gather us into our ideal state. For the richness of colour, language, culture, customs and history of each people, tribe and nation.
3. In the discovery that there is a God at the source of all this astonishing beauty and variety, working out a plan that is both self-revealing, and other-preferring. For the story of God’s love affair with His creatures that involves a relentless pursuit across time and space.
4. In the astonishing and unwavering compassion of God in the death of His Son for the sake of our freedom from the curse of our sin and the death that follows. For the grand surprise of the life that follows such a death – life that can never be extinguished – life with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in unbreakable and unshakable unity.
5. In the ever-fresh wind of the Holy Spirit waking, breathing, stirring, challenging, convicting, transforming, healing, renewing again and again, drawing together the many threads of humanity in Christ into a global, eternal community of resurrection life and power.
6. In the inspiring community of fellow-travellers with Jesus, released by His death, emboldened by His rising, filled with the life of the Spirit – as various and as intriguing as the first act of creation. For those who love us, accept us, hold us, pray for us, welcome us, forgive us, heal us, restore us, challenge us, and point us continually to Christ.
7. In the promise that this isn’t all there is to life. That life is resilient even in the face of ridicule, torture and death. That there is a destiny for us and for all of Creation that involves an ultimate renewal that both arises from and transcends all that we know and love of this world. A future in which God in Christ is both the key and the centrepiece.
Do you feel blessed yet?