For All

Then the Angel of YHWH said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment." – Genesis 16:9

Hagar, slave of Sarai and mother of Ishmael, seems to have been an unwitting participant in the broader history of all mankind. Both she and her mistress would eventually become the mothers of a multitude, yet only Sarai would become Sarah, the mother of Isaac who was the son of God’s promise. Despised and rejected, one might have thought that the descendants produced by Abram and Hagar's union would not have amounted to much, but, of course, we all know different.

Centuries later, Abraham's two bloodlines remain in conflict, both desperately in need of Jesus the Messiah. And though one may lay claim to Christ by blood, both must come to Him by faith in the blood He shed for all on Calvary. If we may learn anything at all from Hagar's story, it is that our obedience (or lack of) can have far-reaching effects upon the generations to follow and that no matter what may occur in your life, God still controls the outcome, His purposes will still be fulfilled, and His grace is still available.

Oh, and please take a moment today to pray for all of Abram's descendants for they (like us) all need to know the one Christ who died for all.

I only see one enemy, and I only see one Savior. The enemy has one aim, and that is to stop the work of Christ. We have only one aim, to advance the work of Christ. – Brother Andrew