Nothing but a victim of His astounding love.
Compassion & Beauty
Reading through the book of Genesis and actually paying attention to the details, something kind of random stands out to me. It has nothing to do with the main characters whom God interacts with most in these stories. For some reason, I keep dwelling upon the seemingly unimportant characters, and I’m realizing another very real facet of God’s character - one of great compassion.
Hagar was just one of (then) Sarai/Abram’s Egyptian slaves, and Sarai, being barren, made Hagar sleep with her husband so she’d finally have a son. But Hagar was so mistreated by Sarai that she was forced to run away and wander through the desert alone. But God, with utmost compassion, came and found Hagar in the desert. He spoke with her intimately and gave her direction, even though she was just a slave. His compassion reaches every person.
When Abraham sent his chief servant out to find a wife for Isaac, he was probably super confused as to how to go about this. But JK not really - all the servant (he doesn’t even get a name) had to do was pray. His prayer is very straightforward, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today…” and he goes on to describe his exact situation to God. Before he even finishes his prayer, Rebekah comes along and does exactly what the servant had prayed a few seconds ago. God listens to every prayer.
God saw that Jacob loved his wife Rachel, and that Leah wasn’t being loved at all. Seeing this, God opened Leah’s womb, but closed Rachel’s. It seems kind of petty, but God cares about and acts on behalf of the ones who seem unimportant.
He sees and hears our very human emotions. He actually listens when we pray. Even though these stories highlight the seemingly important guys - Abraham/Sarah, Issac/Rebekah, Jacob/Rachel, etc - the people on the side are just as beloved. God is a good God who doesn’t exclusively nurture the “chosen” ones. It puts me in more awe to know such a God, knowing that I, too, am one on the sideline.
Also, this weather is freakin gorgeous.
Tuesday Nov 11 @ 11:30amI see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful.
