The death of a child made the news again today. The promising life of a young athlete was cut down before he ever had the chance to fulfill his dreams. In a culture that devalues life from conception to old age, we may become desensitized to death. God, who created life, sustains life. If he knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, how much more a human being created in his image.
Hagar took her son dying of thirst and placed him under a bush. Then she walked away because she could not watch him die. As she began to sob, God heard the boy crying. For the second time God came to Hagar calming her fears and sustaining her life. El Roi, the God who saw her before now sees her son. Even though Ishmael had been sent away from his father, God the heavenly Father found him and planned to make him into a great nation.
The God who sees enabled Hagar to see a well of water. He saved Ishmael’s life that day and stayed with him. Ishmael lived in the desert and learned to use a bow and arrow. His mother found a wife for him. Ishmael lived and became the father of the Arabic peoples.
There are no “throw-away” lives. We may see people in our world in the categories of planned and unplanned. But be assured that God has a plan for each life. Those who are not loved well by their larger families are still loved by God. He hears their cries and dries their tears. God who gave them life wants to sustain their lives. There is a purpose for every second of our lives. Let us find God’s purpose and fulfill it. God himself is with us and for us!
