Sacrificing a son
And the Angel of the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Do not lay a hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’
Genesis 22:12
Imagine being a father praying to have a child of your own for years. Then one day, God answers your prayer and gives you a son. Now imagine God asking you to sacrifice your son by killing him on top of a mountain. Would you do it?
This is exactly what Abraham had to deal with. After being fatherless for so many years, God gave him a son through his promise to him, Isaac. When Isaac turned a certain age, God called upon Abraham to take him to Mount Moriah to offer him a burnt offering. When we read that passage, there is no hesitation from Abraham. He immediately did as the Lord told him.
Abraham took Isaac to the top of the mountain and was about to kill him when the Angel of the Lord intervened. It turned out that it was a test of Abraham’s faithfulness and he passed. He remained obedient to God, no matter how hard the task was for him as a father.
Let’s fast forward several thousand years. God takes his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, and sends him to earth. His only purpose was to be sacrificed on our behalf to save us from our sins. God did exactly what he told Abraham to do and sent his son to this earth to die on the cross for us. Doing so willingly, Christ gave up his life for us on the cross.
We deserved that death. Our sins grew too heavy to bear and we could not save ourselves. We could never earn our own salvation. However, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection cleansed us from our wrongdoing. Now we can have access to our heavenly Father for all of eternity if we believe in him and confess that he is our Lord and Savior.
Abraham’s story is a demonstration of faith and obedience to God. We must strive to obey the Lord and honor him with our actions. God already made the sacrifice for us. All we have to do is live the rest of our lives here on Earth according to His will. It’s the least we can do after his sacrifice for us.
This week, think about the sacrifice God made for us by sending his Son to die on the cross for our sins. Praise him for his act of loving kindness and demonstrate that same type of love to those around you.