The Willingness to Sacrifice the Precious

UV 839/`10,000 The Willingness to Sacrifice the Precious Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. Each uni-verse uncovers the principles that govern the God-man relationship. In this particular uni-verse, it is evident that tests are sent our way to prove that we truly fear or revere or respect and love God. Abraham has many possessions in this life but what he held most dear was the son that he obtained miraculously in his and Sarah’s old age. He was his most precious heir. God had promised to raise nations through that heir. A lot of the hope of Abraham for the future rested on that boy. Yet God was asking him to sacrifice to Him his only son. A theoretical commitment to believe, trust and obey God is not sufficient according to this uni-verse but our faith will be tested in a practical way in the course of our lives. It is a test whether we value the Blessor more than the blessing. Abraham did not withhold his son Isaac from God. Therein he proved that he feared, loved and trusted God to do what is best for him. He was recognizing the principle that what God had given, He had the right and power to take it away. His faith was proved by his work. Similarly, in our lives our relationship with God will be put to the test. Are we willing to give that which we hold most precious to the Lord? When we do so, we are proving that our relationship with the Lord is the top priority of our lives, the most precious for which we are willing to do anything that is asked of us. Abraham’s action of attempting to sacrifice his only son became the model for God Himself to give evidence of His love for all mankind. It is the forerunner of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in history on the cross. God could not have made it any plainer. Yet many Jews, the descendants of Abraham and the Gentiles do not believe to this day. Jesus is the blemishless lamb that Abel offered, the lamb that God provided that was caught in the thicket of man’s sin and rebellion against God. He was baptised in water by John the Baptist and baptised with the fullness of the Holy Spirit even as the Father affirmed, “ This is my beloved Son.” Abraham’s hand was held back by God but there was no one to hold back the hands of the executors of Jesus. Isaac was redeemed at the point and brink of death but Jesus was redeemed from the pit, the brink of hell, having paid for all time the sins of all mankind. Isaac was the passive object of sacrifice, not knowing what the father was intending to do when they set out for Mount Moriah. But Jesus was willing participant. He knew all along the Father’s intention. Nothing in philosophy or literature or mythology or logic or religion or science would ever match the depth of love manifested in this single act of God in sending His Son as a sacrifice and in the Son in willingly accepting the undeserved pain, humiliation and agony of the Cross of Calvary. Prateep V Philip