Tremendous Sacrifice

SCRIPTURE Genesis 22:1-14 (NRSV) God saves Isaac from death After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy 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." And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." DEVOTION To be honest, I've always had a problem with this Bible story. I have no idea how God could ask such a horrible thing of Abraham. I have no idea how Abraham could agree. I have no idea how Isaac ever trusted God or his father again... Now, I share this with you because I want to model transparency in reading scripture. We will not always understand everything that we read in the Bible; we may not always agree with what we find on those sacred pages. But, that is not an excuse to stop reading, studying, learning, trusting, and growing in our faith. Today, I am struck by the fact that while Abraham was spared having to stand by as his son died a tragic death; God was not. Unlike Abraham for whom there was a ram in the bush, God's son--Jesus--was the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. There was no "get out of jail free" card for him; he died a heinous death on an old rugged cross for you and for me. I have never heard anyone read this story and say...poor GOD. How tragic that his son was tortured and murdered for me. But, we do say, poor Abraham. Right now, I want to thank God for the tremendous sacrifice that Jesus made to make atonement for my sin and gift me with eternal life. It is a debt I can never repay... Let us pray: God thank you for allowing your son to die for me. It breaks my heart to imagine how painful that was for you. Thank you that you were willing to allow it so that I can spend eternity with you. I praise you, love you, and pledge to share your love with others. In Jesus' Name, Amen. INVITATION If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta