All In the Family |
Pastor Jerry was reading from
Genesis 21:8-21 The story of God’s
promise to Abraham to have an heir, and Sarah deciding to help God by offering
her maid to her husband. The result was
a male child who later became a source of bitterness and jealousy to Sarah.
The fulfilled promise of a
child to Abraham came late in life and the impossible happened. Sarah was beyond the age of child bearing,
yet she became the mother of Isaac.
Sarah could not hold her
resentment and hostility toward the son of the maid and requested Abraham to
send them away. He did as she asked, and
the mother and child were driven out into the desert.
Tired and hungry the servant
woman wept but an angel appeared showing her food and water, and provided a
promise that God would also make of her son a great nation.
Later in life Ishmael had 12 sons who became
chieftains and rulers in the Arab nation.
In many neighborhoods and
cities there is a multi-culture of mixed races and religions. As people move
from place to place the world becomes smaller.
Naturalism and protecting one’s culture, language and religion are
evident.
Multi-Cultural |
How do we respond to this
racial and cultural mix?
The covenant between God and
Abraham incorporated that he move toward Cannon where he was to claim the promised
land that would become Israel .
The Jewish religion came
through Abraham’s descendants, and Islam from the Arabs, and Christianity all
three state; "The Lord God is One God."
What has all this to do with
us? There is never always smooth sailing
through life. Many times there are
broken dreams, promises, jealousy and even rage between friends and families.
We are filled with joy and
hope, and then come bitterness and strife.
We like stories where the
younger brother does well and succeeds. Jacob,
David, The prodigal son to name a few, and of course little brother Isaac.
The good news is to us all
and God has methods to redeem and restore lives. In the symbol of the cross, we find life.
Although we are all one human
family – the fact is that unless we receive Jesus as our Lord, we are not
Children of God.
May we be reminded that Jesus
said HE is the door and no man comes to the Father except through Jesus. Jesus is the Way into heaven and He is the
truth and the life.
May we all become "One" as we are a part of God’s
Family through Jesus the Christ.
3 comments:
One of the (many) ways that I can feel God at work is how He is helping my siblings and I handle the many issues involved in the settling of my father's affairs, and in the way we are taking care of our mom. We three are very different temperaments and personalities, but I believe that God is working a supernatural unity in our hearts as we are all working together in harmony.
He is able to unite all things, and all people, under His banner. The One God is head of the Body of Christ - and it is a wonder to see it work!
GOD BLESS!
God is so amazing to help through times that are difficult. May you have smooth sailing ahead!
I like it. A great summary of our world history really. And most importantly, the truth of our Savior. All else pales as it compares the works of following rules. As if humans could attain anything heavenly...
Post a Comment