Friday June 30, 2017
There is something startling in Abraham’s response to God’s promise of a son for him when he says: “If only you would accept Ishmael as yours [emphasis added]!” Shouldn’t Abraham have said, “if only you would accept Ishmael as mine!” After all, God was promising him a child of his own; so why should Abraham tell God to consider Ishmael as God’s own? Abraham knew very well the simple truth that parents sometimes forget—that our children are not our own, but belong to God as God’s own and God’s alone! The words of Khalil Gibran (Prophet) may help us reflect on this theme further:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.