by Laura Keeley

Read Genesis 17:1-7, 17-19

Abraham and Sarah were promised a child. They were getting older and older, and still no baby had come. Sarah gave her handmaid to Abraham, and the handmaid had a son who was named Ishmael. But this was still not the child God had promised.

God was there. He knew that a son would be born to Sarah. God knew this baby before he was even born. This child belonged to God. When Sarah finally had this baby, she had a son, and they named him named Isaac.

You were also known by God even before you were born. There is a song I like that says, “Even before I was born, you saw me” (from the album Down to Earth by Fischy Music). The second stanza says, “All of the days of my life, you see me.” And the last stanza adds, “Even at the end of my life, you see me.” That song reminds me that I belong to God always. I like how that song reminds me that God knew me before I was born and will be with me even when I die. He’s with you too.

We belong to God all the days of our lives. Like Isaac, we belong to God, and, like Isaac, we belong to a family. For Isaac, his family began as a small family with just a few people in it—Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac. But that family grew. It grew to be a great nation—the nation of Israel. You and I have a small family too, but we also have the family of God that includes many, many people who belong to God. Some of them are in our church, and the others are all the way around the world! What a joy to belong to such a large family! We don’t belong because we are smart, athletic, or musical. We belong because God loves us.

Do

Share stories of a time when you knew that you belonged to God.

Prayer

God of Abraham and Sarah, you gave Sarah and Abraham a child even though they were very old. You kept your promise to them. God of [your names], you have promised to be our God. We belong to you. May we always remember that promise and know that you keep your promises. Amen.