The God Who Sees Me
Suggested Reading: Bowling Alone
America’s Epidemic of Loneliness
https://weillcornell.org/news/america%E2%80%99s-loneliness-epidemic-what-is-to-be-done
Opening Song of Praise: https://youtu.be/eMY3ivdNzwE?si=j4OLHhaDklc4qg9_
Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+16-21&version=NLT
Recorded Message: https://youtu.be/GlET6KlsuXc
Today are talking about the epidemic of loneliness and the God who sees us. Let’s talk about it.
Head/Mind – Helpful Information for Understanding Today’ Passage
Questions for Discussion: Have you ever felt like an extra in someone else’s story? Have you ever felt forgotten or overlooked by God?
This morning, we are going to turn our attention away from Abraham and Sarah, and for just a few minutes, we are going to look at another set of important characters in this story, Hagar and Ishmael.
Genesis tells us that Abraham had three families (see Genesis 25).. The two most prominent are the Hebrew people, who descended from Sarah and Isaac, and the Arab people, who descended from Hagar and Ishmael. Now, what makes all of this so complex, is that God promised to bless the descendants of Abraham. So, the fact that Abraham has three different families, from three different wives, creates layers of complexity that still leave us with perplexing problems today. What happens when you have two groups of descendants that each have legitimate claims to the blessings of Abraham? And, what’s to be done when these two groups have trouble seeing themselves as brothers? Our choices have real consequences; some of which may outlast us by centuries.
Take, for example, the way Sarah treats Hagar. Verse 6 says that Sarah mistreated Hagar. The word for mistreated is עָנָה “Ah-nah” which means afflicted and it is the same word used in Exodus 1:12 to describe how the Egyptians treated the Hebrew slaves. This would not have been lost on the first readers of Genesis. They would have recognized that same mistreatment inflicted on the Egyptian servant, Hagar, was the same come of mistreatment their people suffered at the hands of the Egyptians. Patterns and behaviors have a way of repeating themselves in families and communities. We reap what we sow.
Finally, Hagar has had enough and she leaves with her son Ishmael. Out in the desert wilderness, they face the hard, cruel, unforgiving world. They feel terribly alone because, they are. Or, so it seems.
Heart – The Personal Connection
Have you ever felt all alone in the world? One of the most important books written in the last 50 years is Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam. Here is how the summary on the Simon & Schuster website describes the book.
Twenty years ago, Robert D. Putnam made a seemingly simple observation; once we bowled in leagues, usually after work; no longer…Bowling Alone surveyed in detail Americans’ changing behavior over the decades, showing how we had become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social structures, whether it’s with the PTA, church, clubs, political parties, or bowling leagues.
The result is 52% of Americans report feeling lonely. 47% report their relationships with other aren’t meaningful.
https://www.crossrivertherapy.com/research/loneliness-statistics
Social media has only complicated matters. On one hand, social media can help friends and family stay connected, even though they may live thousands of miles away. On the other hand, social media can create the illusion of social connection and friendship without real intimacy. So, if you have 1,000 friends on social media, but never spend any real time with these people, are they really friends? If so, in what sense? How many of them can you call for help in a time of crisis? How many of them really know you? How many of them do you know? Social media has simultaneously Made the world smaller and more connected, while also making us more isolated from each other.
Even worse, much of what we see and post on social media is a facade. People post what they want others to see. That means, only the really good stuff usually get’s posted. Our vacations, our best meals, our best outfits. What people don’t usually get to see are the days when the most exciting thing we did was wash the dishes. They don’t get to see the night we had frozen pizza for dinner, or the weekend we didn’t even get dressed because we had a sinus infection. All of this and more makes it harder for us to be real with each other, creating even deeper chasms of loneliness.
Now, none of this was Hagar’s reason for being lonely. She and her son were lonely because they were exploited, marginalized people. They were the extras in someone else’s story.
But, this is the part of that story where we discover something remarkable about the Lord and about ourselves. There are no extras in God’s story. There are no NPC or forgotten people. He overlooks no one. And God extends his story of salvation to include Hagar and her son. Now, granted, this extension comes with many complications, but there is no limit to God’s mercy or creativity.
Hagar calls God, “The God who sees me.” For this reason, some call her the Bible’s first theologian. God has not forgotten her.
God tells Hagar that her son will be a wild man, wild as an untamed donkey, who will be capable of standing up for himself against his enemies. What God says of Ishmael is not an insult. Ishmael will be a strong, independent man who will not allow his enemies to hold him in subjection. This is very good news to hear for a mother who has never known freedom. Her son will do whatever it takes to change the course of their family tree.
Hands – The Practical Application
Jesus sees you and knows your name. He invites you to be part of the story he is telling. He invites you to leave your old ways behind. He beckons you follow. Come and see what is possible when you allow Jesus to incorporate your story into his.
In Luke chapter 19, we read the story of someone who was desperate to get one look at Jesus. Climbing a tree to get over the crowds, he was just able to see Jesus when the biggest surprise of his life happened. He found out that God also sees him.
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
– Luke 19:1-9
Closing Song: https://youtu.be/Ow4OfW4DP9s?si=ZdKrlNNTcCDeB61R