Princess & The Runaway
Part 3 Galatians 4:22 – 5:21
Life in the Spirit begins with a funeral. Yours and mine.
When we come to faith in Christ our flesh dies and is nailed to the cross. With the penalty for sin out of the way, God gives us spiritual birth and we become citizens of Heaven. As humans however, there remains a struggle between the Spirit of God at work in us and the temptations of our sinful nature. The Apostle Paul describes the struggle like this, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. (Romans 7:19)
Genesis 16 – 25 tells the story of two women living together in intense conflict. The first, an elderly woman named Sarah whose name means “Princess,” and the other an Egyptian slave called Hagar, meaning, “flight.”
Sarah was desperate having remained childless after years of waiting for the son God promised Abraham. She became impatient and decided to help things along by sending Hagar, her Egyptian maidservant to Abraham to produce an heir she would claim for her own.
As it happened, Abraham did bring forth a son through Hagar, but notice how the little guy is described. “You shall call his name Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. (Gen 16:11-12)
In time Sarah gave birth to the son God had always intended. The Lord named the boy Isaac, which translated means, “laughter.” Isaac represents the child of God who, saved by grace, through faith in Christ, is now free to live the Spirit-filled life.
Hagar ran away from home in protest and cried out in her affliction. God met her there. “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” (Gen 16:8-9) Hagar returned and submitted her flesh, though not her heart, under the hand of her Mistress.