His love shed abroad in our hearts . . .

Genesis 16; Nehemiah 5; Matthew 15; Acts 15

I have one sister. We are just under two years apart in age and have been the best of friends all our lives. I cannot remember ever having a fight with her. We are also sisters in Christ, making the relationship even closer. I know this is somewhat unusual. Sibling rivalry is more common. Some sisters are estranged for years.

Today’s reading tells the story of Sarai and Hagar, not sisters. Sarai wanted a child. Hagar was her servant. Sarai convinced her husband Abram to sleep with Hagar but when she conceived, the rivalry began. Hagar eventually fled to the wilderness because the pressure was so intense. However, God reached out to Hagar . . .

And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Genesis 16:8–10)

The word that comes to mind is “grace.” Not so much for Abram or Sarai. God made a covenant with Abram to give him a son, but as time passed, the two of them became impatient, even desperate for children. They decided to take matters into their own control. It was not illegal to take another wife, but this was not the Lord’s plan. It resulted in tension in their household for years to come. This faithless move affected not only the next generation but was the beginning of the Arab peoples who have been in hostility with Israel ever since.

The grace was to Hagar. She could have died in the desert, losing her child and the promise God made to her, and we would miss seeing how God, even in the early history of His dealings with humanity, cares for the despised and the outcast, for even those not connected with the people He had chosen.

Nehemiah was God’s man and demonstrated the same compassion for those mistreated. Chapter 5 tells how he stopped oppression of the poor and how he was generous to those in need. After shaking up those who treated others unfairly, he explained his reason:

The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. (Nehemiah 5:15)

Jesus showed the same compassion on a Canaanite woman as His Father showed toward Hagar. She came to Him for help concerning her demon-oppressed daughter:

But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:23–28)

It is no surprise that the reading in Acts describes the debate among the Christians in Jerusalem concerning Gentile believers. Some thought these people needed to become Jews and be circumcised. Peter insisted that was not the message God gave them.

And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” (Acts 15:7–11)

Compassion to all, to the outcast slave, the poor and oppressed, the outsiders, the Gentiles. I cannot help but mix my sister into this description of God’s inclusive grace. She has been like that all her life, not turning anyone away for any reason. Now she is close to the end of her life . . . and dearly beloved. Her family has cared for her intensely because they love her. All who know her love her, including the medical staff who have tried so hard to stop the death that is ravaging her. I am sad for me but letting go because I can in my mind’s eye see her walking into the arms of Jesus and hearing Him applaud her for being such a lovely expression of His compassion.