Parting Of Ways
12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring." (Genesis 21:12-132)
After Sarah gave birth to, and weaned, the son God had promised her and Abraham - Isaac - Sarah's jealousy over Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, boiled over, and she told Abraham to send them away. This distressed Abraham - though not enough for him to make provisions for their safety - so he sought God's guidance. God assuaged Abraham's conscience by telling him of the plan to make a nation out of Ishmael just as God would do for Isaac. God also spoke to Hagar in the wilderness and affirmed God's care and provision for her and her son.
Can separation ever be a good thing - or even a God thing? Perhaps rather than think of separation as good or bad, we just need to remember that sometimes separation is necessary for the peace and/or growth of one or all parties involved. In Matthew 10, it's recorded that Jesus told his disciples that following him would cause division in their most closely held relationships because putting God's agenda first means other people and things cannot be first. It doesn't mean that those things and people aren't important, simply that God comes first. Simple, but not always easy. This means seeking God continually, and trusting that God holds everyone at the same high value that God has for us - as Abraham had to trust.
When others cannot understand that they, or their agenda, can't be our first priority this may cause a parting of ways. In those cases, we have only to determine rather a door will be slammed shut or held open - we go either with a curse or a blessing. While it seems doubtful that Hagar rekindled any sort of relationship with Sarah and Abraham, both Isaac and Ishmael attended to their father when he died (Genesis 25:9), so the door was not completely closed. When we must part ways with others, may we do so with grace and blessing, trusting God to hold us all as sacred and valuable.
34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)
In the Lion King, Simba left the pride in the curse of shame believing he could never return, but Nala left with the blessing of the pride (depicted in the song below).
