As I’ve been reading through this book called Missional Renaissance so much has been stirring on my heart about us, the church, and our love, attitude and actions towards the world. It has encouraged me to reshape my time and energies more everyday so that I am making connections with people that I have not connected with before and who need that connection with the One who can make an eternal impact on their life.

The author writes in one place, “The role of the church is simply this: to bless the world. In doing this, the people of God reveal God’s heart for the world.”

He goes on to explain that we get this mandate from the life of Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12. Crazy to think that the blessings and promises that God bestowed upon Abraham are still pressing us today, but they are. You see God told Abraham that He was going to bless Abraham. But God did not make this about Abraham solely. God said that He would bless Abraham so that in turn, Abraham could bless the world.

We, as the church, are called to this outward action of blessing as well. God is blessing us with abundant life as we press closer in to Him and His will for our lives, but not so that we can be selfish with this blessing. He is blessing us with abundant life so that we can lead the world into an understanding of what it means to be connected relationally to the King of loved us and gave Himself up for us. Even as I write those words, a joy comes over me in thinking of the selfless nature of Jesus’ actions in becoming the ultimate sacrifice. And, His plan to bring that news to the world is through His followers, you an me.

We are blessed in order to be a blessing. A promise that was made thousands of years ago to a nation that was being birthed through Abraham, but which is still ringing over the church today.