David Bahn – Reflections

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. ²³ But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. ²⁴ Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
    than those of the one who has a husband.”

²⁸ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

Diane and I just returned from a very interesting trip. Several members of the Northwest Houston Photo Club went on a PhotoFly trip to Cuba. In many ways Cuba is in the grips of their socialist leaders and system. For example a university graduate makes the same as salary as a high school dropout. Their infrastructure is in shambles. We had electricity about 50% of the time. The roads are potholed and mostly devoid of modern transportation.

On the other hand, Cuba is full of people for whom Jesus died. Some very few of them confess him as Lord and Savior. Most seem blithely ignorant of his proper place in their hearts and lives. And yet there are many delightful people there.

Because we stayed in private people’s homes – casas, which are like bed and breakfast spots – we got to meet and speak to several Cuban people. One of our hosts, Maria, told Diane her story. Her daughter is a dental/medical worker in Miami. She misses her greatly. There is great sadness in Maria’s heart. So Diane prayed for her and her daughter. “El Senior… in Jesus’ name. Amen.”  It was the highlight of our trip.

We can only hope that she and many others will one day be free to know and worship Jesus. We can only pray that somehow she will be the one who can hear these words:

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
    than those of the one who has a husband.”

There are barren and forlorn people all around us. You may know one. They need to hear God’s word of hope and grace. They need to discover where joy is found. They need to believe that God is able to restore lost hopes and rebuild hopeless dreams.

If you wish to see some of my photos from this trip, you may see them in my smugmug gallery.