An insight into Ishmael, that offers hope to many at risk youth today!
Ishmael is a firstborn son, has a mother that is not favored by his father, and is removed from the family inheritance when a younger and more favored son is born to his step-mother and father. One of many self-questions that I’ve asked over the years is “If that happened to me, would that make me angry?” Reacting to others “unfair” actions is a massive problem in our day. Much energy is being spent on how to regulate the reacting individuals, yet little is understood about why there is so much anxiety. Why does it matter that they are looking at us, or have said something about us? Are their words or actions a real threat to our well-being? Why don’t we consider what is best for us in choosing how we will respond, if it all?
Ishmael has significant and potentially impacting information about who he is and is not. In Genesis 16 his mother has ran away from her servant life, pregnantBl with the Bible patriarch Abram’s child. God meets his mother in the wilderness, and lets her know she will have a son, his name will be Ishmael, and he will have a multitude of descendants. That God is intervening to save his mom, has a plan for him, and wants her to know her prayer for him is heard all seems like a positive worthy focus for him. In Genesis 17, when Ishmael is about thirteen, his dad is told by God that he will have another son, this one by his elderly wife Sarah. Abraham expresses he’d be glad if it was Ishmael instead. To have a dad that thinks you are awesome is a real positive by anyone’s standard. In Genesis 21, the child promised to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, is born. A few years later Isaac is weaned, and Sarah wants Ishmael and his mother permanently sent away to not interfere with Isaac’s inheritance. Abraham is grieved yet instructed by God to follow through on his wife’s request. Abraham’s reluctance to send them away clarifies the love and respect for his oldest son, and further affirms value.
Ishmael is sent away with his mother. He will decide what he thinks about God, his father, step-mother, and life in general. The facts are present for all of us, and then we have to interpret them. Remembering his father loved, believed in, and enjoyed, will do him much more good than focusing on the step-mother that was always against him and got rid of him. Factually Ishmael experienced both love and rejection. The love is worthy of remembering and will encourage him that he can be someone worthwhile. Thinking on the rejection can genuinely sour a soul, and can yield a regular reacting to any insult or perceived slight. Does that sound at all familiar? Far too often I have focused on the negative or the hurt, and found it limited me, and was even detrimental to myself and others. I admit to liking myself better when the focus is more on my options than the actions of others. Should our families, churches, and friendships reinforce that we have value and are a part of something bigger than us, and more worthwhile?
Many, like Ishmael, have come from families that have given a mixed message to their children. There is real love present! There is also some real drama, or something that raises a question about the reality of that love, like parents that separate. Matt 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Since we believe God loves all people, can we join Him in His desire for all to come to Him? Can we move toward Jesus Christ living in and through us in a manner that will connect with people at the cross roads of life? If you meet “Ishmael”, can you make room for him or her to experience God’s love through the way you interact with them?