Today's Reading:Genesis 21:1-21
"Isaac's Arrival - Ishmael's Departure"
Focus Verses: Genesis 21:1-2
1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
Insight:
The goodness and grace of God is what strikes me most about this passage. The joy and miracle of Isaac's birth is sadly marred by the bitterness and strife in Abraham's house. Hagar mocks Sarah. Sarah is bitter toward Hagar and determined to get rid of her and Ishmael. Abraham is happy about the birth of Isaac but worried sick about Ishmael. Only God is good, gracious, and faithful to everyone involved.
God is gracious to Sarah and faithful to keep his promise to her. He is good to Hagar and Ishmael and is faithful to keep his promise to them. God is reassuring and comforting to Abraham and is faithful to both of his sons.
Conflict among people is a sad fact of life. We have trouble getting along and often fail to look out for the best interests of others. God is above our differences and our conflicts. He doesn't take sides but instead works graciously for the good of everyone. Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's love and grace for everyone.
Response and Action:
I am thankful for God's grace and goodness to me. I need God's help and guidance to navigate through conflicts and differences with others. I want to draw near to God and learn to rise above selfishness and disputes. I want to put aside selfishness, be less concerned about my own interests, and more concerned about the good of others.
O Lord, you are good and gracious to me. Thank you for Jesus who emptied himself for me and for all humanity. Help me to become like him in my attitudes and actions toward others. Help me to give grace more than I seek it; to love others more than I seek to be loved; to forgive others more than I ask for forgiveness; to understand others more than I seek to be understood. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 4:18
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."
New Testament for Today: Philippians 2:14-15a
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe...
In Context: Philippians 2:1-18
Resources:
Genesis: The Story We Haven't Heard
by Paul Carlton Borgman
