Galatians 4:22. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
Who among us isn’t completely wrapped up in our own plans? Consider your own level of busyness. Your to-do list. If our actions dictate what we really believe, then we all believe that we need to get things done in order to be worthy of our existence, and that God just needs a little help in getting done what we think He should get done.
The promise to Abraham was that he would be the father of a great nation (that’s literally what the name “Abraham” means). The problem was that Abraham was married to Sarah, who was barren, and on top of that, they were both very old. Surely, God needs a little help for this promise to come to pass. So Sarah and Abraham concoct a plan—Abraham will sleep with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, and together they will produce an offspring, Ishmael. It was rational, it made sense, and it worked. Sort of.
Without going into all the details of the Hagar and Ishmael story, the lesson is clear: when we try to manipulate the lives of others in order to gain control over our own lives, we lose our freedom. We become enslaved to our own plans, our own desires to live in control. But we soon find that we are no longer in control. This is the paradox—the more we try to control our lives, the less we are in control.
The life of freedom in Christ is the life of simply receiving from God, not controlling God or others. It is the life of hoping and trusting. It is the life of waiting for God’s timing, knowing He will keep His promises to us in the fullness of time.
Abraham’s two sons are an allegory for two ways to live. We can live “Hagar and Ishmael” lives that seek to use that cause-and-effect that we spoke of in our last devotional. This is living from the flesh, from our own decision-making and effort. Or we can live “Sarah and Isaac” lives—lives that trust in the divine promise, lives of laughter and joy in the midst of waiting in our own spiritual barrenness.
All of us who have come to God through faith alone in Christ alone are children of Isaac and of promise. But all who try to come to God from their own abilities, commitments, and resolve—even Jews trying to follow the law of God—are children of Ishmael. The choice is ours to make each and every day. Freedom or bondage. Two ways to live.
You: Do you tend to live as a son of Isaac or a son of Ishmael?
You in Christ: How does our union with Christ make us children of Isaac, rather than children of Ishmael?
Christ in you: Are you controlling? How does Christ in You allow you to release control and embrace waiting on God?
Pray: Father, I confess my need to control everything. Teach me to trust. To wait. To receive, not earn. Amen.
