Tuesday,
November 20, 2018
For
those of us living in the United States, we live in the “Land of the Free.” So often when we think of freedom, we think
we are free to do what we want, whenever we want. Personal independence – the ability to make our
own decisions and choose our own path in life.
When
I came to verses 4:21-31, Sarah and Hagar, I studied it for a week and I had to write it out like this:
Sarah Hagar
Abraham Covenant Mosaic
Covenant
Grace Law
Spirituality Carnality
Miraculous Birth Birth
against God’s will
No Conditions Conditions
No Strings Attached Merited Favor
I have been known to take matters into my own
hands, so I can relate to Abraham and Sarah getting frustrated with their
promise of a child not happening in their timing. Over and over, when I have taken matters into
my own hands, a bigger mess seems to occur.
And how sad to fully realize what happens when we don’t fully trust God –
we inherit nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Zero. Just like Israel, when they
tried to keep the law on their own, all they received was legalism.
Since Ishmael was not accepted as an heir, he was
no better than his mother - a slave. And
when the Israelites, or us for that matter, take the law upon ourselves without
trusting God for His gift of grace, we become slaves because we have no freedom
to do the law from the heart, and because of our unbelief, we are locked into
disobedience and excluded from the inheritance.
I like the idea of freedom. I believe the older I get the more people
seem to judge me. The color of my
skin, my occupation, the car I drive, my political interests, the vacations I
take, the food I eat, my ideals, my children and their choices, and my faith. So yes, I like the idea of freedom. I have also worked for nearly 28 years for
the 2nd largest police department in our state and there is a lot of
laws and rules to follow.
So how do we become a child of God? Well, it’s easy - accepting
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sin. Except we are so used to paying for what we
get. I’m not a good gift giver, nor a good receiver of gifts. I’m used to working for
what I have and following the rules of how to obtain them. Yet becoming a Christian seems so simple. However, there’s a trust factor you must come to terms with and it’s not so
easy for some. Becoming a Christian is supernatural.
As we submit to Christ, sin loses its power and
Christ’s power takes over. As we choose
to trust and follow Him, our sinful habits, thoughts and attitudes lose their
control. Guilt disappears, and peace of
mind dominates. Right habits become the
norm. Now that’s true freedom!
As we learn to live by faith in the Son of God,
and don’t rely on what we can achieve on our own, we are no longer in the slave
category – but in the category of freedom!
You may be asking, why aren’t the Ishmael-types free? Because they lack the desire to rest in God’s
promises. It’s not that they desire to
reject God. They simply want Him on their
own terms. Abraham and Hagar wanted God’s
blessing, but not on HIS terms.
The old childhood song we all sang, “Jesus loves
me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong, they are
weak, but He is strong” isn’t easy for Ishmael-types. They rely on human resources. They don’t like to admit that they are
children in need of a father, or like a patient in need of a doctor.
Ishmael-types do not have saving faith. They don’t have the freedom of desire for
saving faith. They also lack the freedom
of eternal life, because no one who prefers to live in his own strength rather
than trusting God will be saved and go to heaven. And worst of all, the hardness of heart that
spurns childlike dependence on God will also darken their understanding. We all know that the most common use of our
mind is to justify our desires.
Therefore, deeply wrong desires will deeply mislead the mind until it is
not able to understand what is right. So
Ishmael-types are not free because they lack the freedom of desire to rest in
God’s sovereign grace; and therefore, they lack the freedom of ability to
understand God’s will; and finally, they lack the freedom of eternal joy, because
the life they have chosen leads to destruction.
So
as a person with trust issues, I turned to Scripture to see who Jesus was a
friend of and we all know, Jesus was a friend of sinners. The woman thrown into the center of a huge
crowd, forever marked as a woman of adultery.
What about the Man right next to her?
Her accusers questioned Him about
her punishment.
What
about the woman at the well? The woman
was a Samaritan, hated and rejected as an outcast of the worst type, especially
by those “following God”. Jesus decided
to stop and rest at the well and struck up a conversation with this sinner and
outcast. She even admits to her
adulterous life. By the end of their
conversation Jesus declared Himself the Messiah and she gratefully accepted
that revelation. Jesus wasn’t finished
with His work, so he headed into town with her and hung out with the villagers
for two additional days (John 41:1-42).
Jesus
hung out with tax collectors (Matthew and Zacchaeus), which upset many of the
religious leaders of the time.
What about the story of the “Good Samaritan”? Isn’t it in our own nature to avoid situations and people that make us uncomfortable? This story shows us that our neighbor is anyone, even someone with different religious and moral beliefs, an outcast, a rebel, or even our enemy. Jesus demonstrates how we should always show compassion and mercy toward others.
I
apologize for this long post, but I had to ask myself as I studied Sarah and Hagar,
which one do I follow? Am I walking this
time on earth trusting in God’s promise and truly following Jesus, who is a
friend of sinners? Or do I follow Hagar’s
tendency to walk according to my own plans and follow the laws of this
world? Or as the iworship says, am I
placing myself in “bondage to works and religious rituals?” Or as I heard on the radio last week, am I forcing myself to adhere to a set of rules set forth by some who believe there's a standard for a Christian life? Are there a certain number of bible studies I must do? Are there a certain number of people I must meet with weekly? Do I need to pray for a certain number of hour or on specific days?
"Consequently, it is clear that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." (3:11)
