Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
Lately I have been thinking about Abraham. I guess it is because right now I have an Isaac in my life that God is asking me to take to Moriah and sacrifice to Him. And I don't want to do it. I wonder - did Abraham question God? I have to think that he did. After all, Abraham was as human as I. Yet, he did what was required in obedience. How did he leave his home, leave Sarah and walk that long walk to Moriah without turning back? Where did his strength come from? How did he avoid telling Isaac about what was to come? All these questions I have.
Yet, Abraham was faithful. He followed God's command and he brought that precious Isaac to the point of death believing that God had his good in mind. He had to - or he would not have been able to do it. There is no way that Abraham in his humanness could have lifted that knife to take the life of his only son if he did not believe more deeply in the goodness of God.
Can I do that? Can I take that which has become too precious, too consuming and place it on the altar? Can I willingly lift the knife to take the "life" of my Isaac so that I too can experience the ultimate goodness of God? Not in my own strength. That I know. The strength to be obedient must be supplied by God Himself.
And what of Isaac? How did he respond to all of this? God's word is silent on this. But it is fairly easy to imagine that he must have felt betrayed and hurt by the actions of his father. I mean after all - what son would ever expect to die at the hands of their father? But, the blessings that Isaac experienced in his life were only possible because of the obedience of his father. I wonder if the "Isaac" in my life will ever come to understand that. I can only pray that will be true.
Life is a series of surrenders. And a series is continual. There is no stopping. Not if you really want to experience the wholeness of the life that God intends. It is only, as I am learning, as I am willing to lay down each "Isaac" that I truly will be ready to experience God's full and complete blessing.
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2 comments:
Carol, heartfelt and deep things here. I have my own Isaac and I love how you said that Isaac came to see the blessings of his father's obedience. Like you, I hope my Isaac does too.
This is your best post yet, since I've been reading.
As I was reading your post the thought came to my mind is that Christ was actually the perfect Isaac. He got up on the altar willingly. And what it means for us to "drink this cup" is actually--like Christ--to get up on the altar willingly.
So sometimes the sacrifice God asks of us is the sacrifice of Abraham--to offer up to His purposes those precious things or ones that He gives us. And sometimes the sacrifice God asks of us is what He asked of Christ--to offer up ourselves.
I'm guessing that in our journey towards spiritual maturity we go through both at increasing levels of depth.
It's all painful.
An old friend of mine and I used to talk about this phrase, "I trust you enough to kill me."
That's crazy isn't it? But that is exactly what God called Christ to, and perhaps at some level God asked Isaac and Abraham to walk through. And I know it is what God asked of Job ("yet though he slay me still I will trust him"). And He asks it of us too. Do I trust Him enough to get up on the cross willingly? At what point in the journey--because when everything's going according to plan that doesn't seem so hard--but when everything points in the opposite direction...I think maybe its time to put the brakes on and think this through a bit.
Anyways, that's what I've been processing. Thanks for writing.
On a lighter note--We're going to The Finger Lakes for our anniversary the first weekend in Nov.(Yeah for wine tasting!) and the 23rd-Thanksgiving weekend is booked. So I could do the cabin either the 8th or the 15th. Do either of those weekends work for you?
We've got lots of catching up to do!
Love and Miss Ya.
Let me know!
B
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