Hey everyone,
Hope the Lord is blessing you. Remember that we have bible study tonight at 7pm and College Bible Study at 6pm on Friday. Here’s today’s devotion:
Wed, Jan 18th – Genesis 21
For those of us who believe in Reformed theology, many of us have stated that if you take that theological stance then that assumes that you believe that God doesn’t care about the non-elect b/c if He really did then He would have chosen them to be saved. This boils down to a simplier question of whether God loves everyone or not. We must remember that just b/c God doesn’t save everyone doesn’t mean that He doesn’t love everyone. Just b/c I don’t choose to spoon feed someone (like my son) doesn’t mean that I don’t love them. Love is expressed in differently. Today in our study, we see how the Lord loves.
In Genesis 21, the Lord would finally deliver on His promise by sending forth Isaac. Now imagine if God had given them this son right after the promise. Would it have had the same impact? Probably not. The Lord would work in His timing to display His power and to show that humanity cannot restrain divinity. But then another problem arose between Sarah and Hagar once again. Abraham once again didn’t know what to do but the Lord reassured him that it was OK to send them. When they were sent out, we see the picture of Ishmael crying and Hagar being distraught. Now for those who would take a hard line Reformed approach, they might say, God doesn’t need to care about them b/c they aren’t apart of the line of Christ. But the Lord shows His compassion on those outside of the line as well. This is such a beautiful of the Lord’s care. Most people wouldn’t care about an outcasted mother and child in the wilderness but God did.
What are we to learn from this? We are called to show Christ-like compassion to the world around us. Just b/c someone isn’t a believer doesn’t give us the right to shun them but we are to show the greatness of our God by extending grace in every way.
Take care guys and hope to see you all soon.
Blessings,
P. Ben