Letting Go of Isaac
Ge
nesis 22:2
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"
For the past few years I keep on professing to God that I'm willing to give up everything in obedience to him. Easier said than done. A lot of times there are things that I just couldn't let go. Where i would have to wait for God to forcefully take it out of my hands before I let go out of exhaustion (believe me it is never a pleasant experience). Sometimes I even make excuses; pretending as if my hands are empty when in fact, clenched within my fists are things I have never been willing to give up.
I cannot fathom how Abraham must have felt when he was walking up the mountain, preparing the altar where he will be sacrificing his only begotten son. I am sure he was in grief. Deep inside he must have wished that God was just kidding around. What is so amazing however is that Abraham obeyed. He lifted his hand along with the dagger and as he was about to bury the blade into Isaac's throat God intervened at the right moment telling Abraham not to touch Isaac and we all know the rest of the story.
You can make out a lot of theories about Genesis 22. We might say that Abraham knew that it was a test and that if he obeyed God will surely not take Isaac away. However God knows our hearts and for certain he knows Abraham's heart. He wouldn't have intervened if Abraham knew it was a test because Abraham wouldn't have plunged that dagger into Isaac anyway.
Sometimes when we say we're willing to give up something we always think of it as a test. We always say to ourselves: it's okay because i'm sure God will surely give me something in return or that he will reward me. Or better yet, if I obeyed, He will give me back this thing I have been holding on. Sometimes we complicate things that is so simple to make the act of letting go less painful. I myself am guilty of this saying to myself that its going to be alright because i'm sure God has better plans (don't get me wrong God always has better plans but that is not the point of letting go)
The point is so simple: Obey (simplicity does not entail that it will be easy however)
I think Abraham followed God not because he knew it was a test and that God will surely give him compensation; but Abraham simply obeyed. Abraham obeyed (and we should too) because :1) God is worthy of our obedience 2) He deserves to be obeyed above anyone else. We should obey him out of love for him and not just because we know that he is good and that in letting go he desires what's best for us (even though he really does desire what's best for us)
P.S. This post is not about SAKI or any subliminal message that i want to plunge a dagger into him or sacrifice him in an altar. And also, it is never a good idea to blog around 10:00 p.m. in the evening beside the Anatomy Laboratory in a medical school when all the students are home knowing that there are fresh dead bodies in there.
The ASMPH Cafeteria at Midnight
nesis 22:2
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"
For the past few years I keep on professing to God that I'm willing to give up everything in obedience to him. Easier said than done. A lot of times there are things that I just couldn't let go. Where i would have to wait for God to forcefully take it out of my hands before I let go out of exhaustion (believe me it is never a pleasant experience). Sometimes I even make excuses; pretending as if my hands are empty when in fact, clenched within my fists are things I have never been willing to give up.
I cannot fathom how Abraham must have felt when he was walking up the mountain, preparing the altar where he will be sacrificing his only begotten son. I am sure he was in grief. Deep inside he must have wished that God was just kidding around. What is so amazing however is that Abraham obeyed. He lifted his hand along with the dagger and as he was about to bury the blade into Isaac's throat God intervened at the right moment telling Abraham not to touch Isaac and we all know the rest of the story.
You can make out a lot of theories about Genesis 22. We might say that Abraham knew that it was a test and that if he obeyed God will surely not take Isaac away. However God knows our hearts and for certain he knows Abraham's heart. He wouldn't have intervened if Abraham knew it was a test because Abraham wouldn't have plunged that dagger into Isaac anyway.
Sometimes when we say we're willing to give up something we always think of it as a test. We always say to ourselves: it's okay because i'm sure God will surely give me something in return or that he will reward me. Or better yet, if I obeyed, He will give me back this thing I have been holding on. Sometimes we complicate things that is so simple to make the act of letting go less painful. I myself am guilty of this saying to myself that its going to be alright because i'm sure God has better plans (don't get me wrong God always has better plans but that is not the point of letting go)
The point is so simple: Obey (simplicity does not entail that it will be easy however)
I think Abraham followed God not because he knew it was a test and that God will surely give him compensation; but Abraham simply obeyed. Abraham obeyed (and we should too) because :1) God is worthy of our obedience 2) He deserves to be obeyed above anyone else. We should obey him out of love for him and not just because we know that he is good and that in letting go he desires what's best for us (even though he really does desire what's best for us)
P.S. This post is not about SAKI or any subliminal message that i want to plunge a dagger into him or sacrifice him in an altar. And also, it is never a good idea to blog around 10:00 p.m. in the evening beside the Anatomy Laboratory in a medical school when all the students are home knowing that there are fresh dead bodies in there.
The ASMPH Cafeteria at Midnight