Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram,
"The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her."
Abram agreed to what Sarai said...
Genesis 16:1-3 NIV
What was Sarai thinking?
Seems that the importance of having an heir, the importance of the cultural norm of bearing a son, overwhelmed her judgement and her faith.
Before we judge her too quickly, don't we do some of the same things?
Why can't I be 30 and single?
Why does working long hours/ being "busy" give credibility?
Only paid work is valuable...
There are pressures that are subtle and some that are really in your face, but they can lead us to make poor decisions, just like Sarai...
Jesus said to love God, and love people. If we keep that as our guide, then the cultural pressures lose their power...
#inthistogether
...four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus... Mark 2:3-4 NLT Great account of inventiveness and determination to get their friend to see Jesus. Love this. Do you wonder about the back story? Are these the same 4 people who bring this man food? Take him to the toilet every day. Clean him up. Does he live with one of them? Are they family? Are there whole families or groups of people in the background who have supported and cared for this man? A group of children who grew up seeing their parents love in action? Probably. Healing Help Hope These things are found in community. These 4 guys are the heroes here. The upfront people. One day it will be interesting to see who the background heroes are. #loveinaction #community #inthistogether #walkingeachotherhome #gospelofmark
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