I was asked recently the question about why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on mount Moriah. I gave the usual very condensed textbook answer that most Evangelical Christians know. I said that God was not really testing the faith of Abraham as much as He was proving the faith of Abraham (Who God called "friend"). I said that God knew what He was going to do from the outset, that He was not going to allow Abraham to go through with it. I mentioned the fact that Abraham told his son Isaac when asked where the sacrifice was, that God Himself would provide the sacrifice. I pointed out that in this story God used Abraham's obedience to symbolize what God the Father would do centuries later at possibly the same spot on earth, for many believe that Golgotha (Calvary as it is also known) was the same place that Abraham centuries before had taken his son to sacrifice him.
What I did not go into at the time was the speculation about what a father's heart must have been suffering, knowing that He was to put his son on an altar and there sacrifice him. I did not speculate as to how a father would probably rather die himself than to do this. I did not go into the many possible scenarios that may have been gong on in the heart and mind of Abraham during that time. We know that Abraham, whose God given name means "Father of nations", wanted desperately to have a son.
We know that his son with Hagar was long gone. We also know that God Himself called Isaac Abraham's "only son". We know by Abraham's very words that he believed God's promise, for he said that Isaac would return with him from the mountain. Still, what must it have been like for a father to put his son on an altar and to have been perhaps a heartbeat away from plunging the knife in his son?
Now for the reason I am actually writing this. I have brothers and sisters in Christ who are right now on the altar as it were. They are in financial straits, perhaps days or weeks from being put out of their homes. They are in impossible situations... at least we would call them impossible.
They are in constant pain, both physical and emotional. In my feeble attempts at being there for them, I feel very often unworthy and not equal to the task. I plead moment by moment with God not to become as one of Job's "friends" in my attempts to share with them in their suffering. I know that God is using them mightily, and I actually know this on a personal level. My heart so wants to "fix" things for them, to make them whole somehow, and I know that I cannot. I know that if I had the wherewithal to do it, I would probably try to play God in this. The humbling this does to me is intense and needed. I can understand the heart of John the baptist when He said that he was unworthy to even tie the latch on Jesus' sandal.
To all of you who are suffering right now, who are helpless and bound on the altar, not because of any wrongdoing in your life necessarily, but for God's own purpose, please consider the heart of your Father. I have often said that when God's children are in pain, God Himself as a parent is even in greater pain. I feel both presumptuous and unworthy to make that statement when I see the suffering that some of my brothers and sisters are going through. I just want you to know that your suffering is not in vain, and that just as the suffering of Jesus on the cross led to grace and mercy for all who will turn to Him, so also the suffering that you are going through now, yes, helpless on the altar, is being and will be used by our Father. Know that as I write this I am shedding tears, and I so wish I could do more. Know that I love you, and you are loved by many. Know most importantly that our Father loves you and that you are not forgotten. God bless you.
What I did not go into at the time was the speculation about what a father's heart must have been suffering, knowing that He was to put his son on an altar and there sacrifice him. I did not speculate as to how a father would probably rather die himself than to do this. I did not go into the many possible scenarios that may have been gong on in the heart and mind of Abraham during that time. We know that Abraham, whose God given name means "Father of nations", wanted desperately to have a son.
We know that his son with Hagar was long gone. We also know that God Himself called Isaac Abraham's "only son". We know by Abraham's very words that he believed God's promise, for he said that Isaac would return with him from the mountain. Still, what must it have been like for a father to put his son on an altar and to have been perhaps a heartbeat away from plunging the knife in his son?
Now for the reason I am actually writing this. I have brothers and sisters in Christ who are right now on the altar as it were. They are in financial straits, perhaps days or weeks from being put out of their homes. They are in impossible situations... at least we would call them impossible.
They are in constant pain, both physical and emotional. In my feeble attempts at being there for them, I feel very often unworthy and not equal to the task. I plead moment by moment with God not to become as one of Job's "friends" in my attempts to share with them in their suffering. I know that God is using them mightily, and I actually know this on a personal level. My heart so wants to "fix" things for them, to make them whole somehow, and I know that I cannot. I know that if I had the wherewithal to do it, I would probably try to play God in this. The humbling this does to me is intense and needed. I can understand the heart of John the baptist when He said that he was unworthy to even tie the latch on Jesus' sandal.
To all of you who are suffering right now, who are helpless and bound on the altar, not because of any wrongdoing in your life necessarily, but for God's own purpose, please consider the heart of your Father. I have often said that when God's children are in pain, God Himself as a parent is even in greater pain. I feel both presumptuous and unworthy to make that statement when I see the suffering that some of my brothers and sisters are going through. I just want you to know that your suffering is not in vain, and that just as the suffering of Jesus on the cross led to grace and mercy for all who will turn to Him, so also the suffering that you are going through now, yes, helpless on the altar, is being and will be used by our Father. Know that as I write this I am shedding tears, and I so wish I could do more. Know that I love you, and you are loved by many. Know most importantly that our Father loves you and that you are not forgotten. God bless you.