Have you ever tried to climb Mount Moriah with Abraham? To experience the sense of anguish at being asked to give up such a treasured gift as the son of his old age with Sarah?
I don't mean just
knowing the facts of the story - one which we know well (read Genesis 22
if you are unfamiliar with it), but feeling as Abraham felt
... agonising through
the understanding of God's plan unfolding before him
... grieving at
the loss that would soon be his
... wondering what
better thing God could have instead
... wondering how
the earlier promise of God would be fulfilled.
Often we come to scripture asking knowledge questions, theological questions, thinking that scripture only needs to be understood. And yet, God wants to take us deeper, to share the experiences of Him borne in the witness of so many faithful ones. God wants us not just to know how Abraham lived, but to know God the way Abraham knew Him. In order to achieve that, we have to be prepared to offer up as sacrifices some of the things which are precious to us. These things may not be bad of themselves, but may come to stand in the way of our primary relationship with God.
Climb Mount Moriah with Abraham, and see what God would call you to offer there.
Gary
July 3, 1994
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