there was definitely a theme running through today's readings. trust is apparently really important to God. He wants us to trust Him! it does make me wonder why it's so important to Him... any of you have any thoughts on the matter?
but it obviously IS important to Him. He tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. to kill his own son. now, you might say that God never really intended for him to go through with it. and you might say that it was foreshadowing God's sacrifice when Jesus died. and you might say that Abraham never really thought he was gonna have to do it, since he told Isaac "God will provide the lamb." (another foreshadowing, you might say)
but this still had to be really hard for Abraham, not to mention for Isaac! it's even hard to read. it's hard to think "yeah, that sounds like something a loving, kind, wise God would ask His servant/child/friend to do..." no, it sounds freaking crazy. if you think God is telling you to kill someone, you might want to run it past a few spiritual advisors before you act on it.
just reading this passage requires us to trust God. that's what hit me after I struggled with it for awhile. I had to trust God that He IS a loving, kind, wise God who knew what He was doing all along. that He had Abraham and Isaac's best interests at heart the whole time.
and when Jesus says His harsh statements in the NT about saying to those who say "Lord, Lord, we drove out demons in Your Name!" (which I can't say I've ever done!), "Depart from me, for I never knew you" (the most terrifying words in the whole Bible), I have to trust Him again. I have to trust that He is not going to say that to ME one day, when I say "Lord, Lord, here I am wanting to enter your Kingdom."
this takes a lot of trust. and when we find ourselves lacking that trust, fortunately we can ask Him to give us more. He wants to... He has a never ending fount of it that He is longing to give us.
we just have to ask. and seek. and knock. because He told us, just yesterday ;) that if we ask, seek, and knock, we will find, receive, and the door will be opened.
2 comments:
Abraham and Sarah went from trusting God and literally laughing at what God told them. The foreshadowing of Jesus trust of God is seen in Isaac.. Isaac trusted his father and did what he was to do because his loving father Abraham told him. Amazing trust.and faith in his earthly father who was being directed by the Heavenly Father who was responsible for everything that Abraham had. Christ could have called on God to say is there another way, but His trust in the Father and the love for us is what propelled Him to continue. Such trust, belief, and respect for God.
good thoughts
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