Last Sunday, October 10, Pastor Brent preached about God’s covenant with Abraham. Next week he’ll preach about some of the many promised children of Abraham’s marriage to his wife, Sarah. But we wanted to make sure you heard the story of Abraham’s other lineage, the children of his servant, Hagar.
Genesis 21:17-19
God heard the boy’s cries, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “Hagar! What’s wrong? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy’s cries over there. Get up, pick up the boy, and take him by the hand because I will make of him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went over, filled the water flask, and gave the boy a drink.
Devotional – a love letter from God, borrowed from Liberating Love by Sandhya Rani Jha
Sometimes there are stories within stories. People often talk about the faithfulness of my beloved children Abraham and Sarah. They do not always celebrate my courageous and beautiful daughter Hagar. Hagar was enslaved, and her body was used to produce a child that she did not ask for, out of an act that had nothing to do with love. My daughter Hagar deserved better, as do all of my children forced into labor or sex trafficking or surrogacy. Today I ask you to offer up a prayer of celebration for Hagar’s liberation and a prayer that your community might find ways to partner in bringing about people’s liberation in your midst around the world.
