Our Faith is Never Blind

Growing up I listened to the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac with confusion and amazement. Confusion that God would ask such a thing and amazement that Abraham would be willing to do it. I thought the story a testament to Abraham's faith but as I have heard and read the story as an adult a different dimension has become the emphasis of this amazing story. Though Abraham's faith is something to aspire to, the emphasis has become about the character of God. There are few more extraordinary requests then the one made in this story. That someone should sacrifice their child to prove allegiance to their God seems unthinkable. That their God would ask them to do so seems even worse and would certainly draw into question the goodness of that God. In fact, there were many pagan gods at the time of Abraham that did require such sacrifice and the true God makes it clear elsewhere in the old testament that such sacrifices are detestable to Him. In Jeremiah 7 He says that not only does He not require such sacrifices but that it never even crossed His mind to require them. Though Jeremiah was written long after the situation with Abraham, we know that God never changes and that when He says it NEVER crossed His mind that means that from the beginning of time to the end of it He will never seek the life of one of our children as atonement or proof of faith. If this is true how can we understand God's request of Abraham? I think we can understand it by realizing that like so many things with God this story is not as it appears. Prior to God issuing this extraordinary request He had promised Abraham that He would make Isaac into a great nation (Genesis 21:18). A promise that Abraham believed without question not because of blind faith but because he had complete confidence in the character of God. When we get to the story at hand, Abraham says an amazing thing to his servants on the way up the mountain. He says to them, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and will come again to you" (Genesis 22:5) This is interesting because Abraham and Isaac are making this climb up the mountain because God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering. Yet even as Abraham climbs the mountain, he promises that he and Isaac will return. Though this may appear to be contradictory I think that it shows us something amazing about our God. Abraham took God at His word. God promised that through Isaac God would raise up a great people, and even when facing God's request for Isaac's life, Abraham knew that God does not lie and would not fail to fulfill His promise. I think Abraham knew God so well that he climbed that mountain confident that either God would provide a substitute or He would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham did not know exactly what God had in store but he did know that God is good. Abraham's faith was not blind but it was also not dependent or focused on the details of the situation. His faith was steadfast because he considered the request God made in light of who God is and knew that Isaac's life would be preserved. Our faith is never blind. We may not know the details of what God has laid before our feet. We may hear from Him and wonder what He could possibly be thinking. He may request something of us that makes us wonder if He knows us at all, because if He did He would surely know that we are not the one for the job, right? But the reality and challenge of the story of Abraham and Isaac climbing that mountain is to not consider the details with out considering the author. The details of your life may not always make sense. The requests God makes of you may seem unthinkable but remember to consider them within the context of God's character. He has proven himself faithful to us just as He proved himself faithful to Abraham. He provide a substitute on that mountain and He did so again hundreds of years later when His own son hung on a cross so that we never have to. The blood of Jesus covers us and makes us holy and it testifies forever to the character of God. It reminds us that He is good and though we deserve to be left to our destruction He will never leave or forsake us. He will never make a request of you without also making a way for you! Take heart for God is good.