Today we see two children who receive promises from God. The child of promise is Isaac, the promised child of Abraham and Sarah, delivered in their extreme old age. Yet we also see another promise here. We see God promising to make a great nation from the child Ishmael. Counter to Sarah's desire, our Lord cares for even the child who is not the child of promise. Through the offspring of Abraham all the nations of the world will be blessed, including the Ishmaelites.
We see here the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior. Though he could have restricted his death only for the sins of some, only for the children of Abraham, only for those who would believe, he instead gave his life as an atonement not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2). Jesus, the promised son of Abraham, blesses all nations, including those who were specifically not included among the descendants of Abraham according to the promise.
Salvation really is by grace. It is not a matter of law. It is not a matter of human lineage. It is not a matter of anything but God's grace and the completed work of Jesus on the cross. How do I know I am a Christian? Not because I believe well enough, but because I believe Jesus Christ gave his life as a ransom for sinners, and I know that I am a sinner. Here is God's grace and mercy. Here is the work of the child of promise who blesses all nations.
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