January 7
Genesis 21:8-23:20, 11:32, 24:1-67
Abraham was willing to sacrifice that which he treasured more than anything else to obey God. He put God’s commands above his own wishes by being willing to sacrifice his son if that is what God demanded of him. It is not hard to imagine the quiet, depressing walk as Abraham and Isaac walked up the mountain to the place of sacrifice. Yet at the final moment, God provided a substitute for Isaac. He provided a ram so Isaac could be spared.
In this we see a powerful picture of Jesus. However, unlike Abraham and Isaac, God's son was not spared. The knife did not stop, a ram was not provided, and the son was sacrificed. In this act we can see the extent of God's love for us. He offered his precious son so that we could have life, forgiveness, hope, and a purpose. No substitute for our sin was possible except the eternal son, Jesus Christ. For this we should worship, joyfully express thanks, and respond with lives that value Jesus' sacrifice above all else.
Father God, help me to worship you. Help me to be thankful for your good gifts but not to elevate any of them to the supreme place in my life only you deserve to be. Help me to love you as a response to the way you love me. Amen.
What are the things that compete with God for the supreme place in your life? How can you ensure that you keep a love of God above all these things?
Abraham was willing to sacrifice that which he treasured more than anything else to obey God. He put God’s commands above his own wishes by being willing to sacrifice his son if that is what God demanded of him. It is not hard to imagine the quiet, depressing walk as Abraham and Isaac walked up the mountain to the place of sacrifice. Yet at the final moment, God provided a substitute for Isaac. He provided a ram so Isaac could be spared.
In this we see a powerful picture of Jesus. However, unlike Abraham and Isaac, God's son was not spared. The knife did not stop, a ram was not provided, and the son was sacrificed. In this act we can see the extent of God's love for us. He offered his precious son so that we could have life, forgiveness, hope, and a purpose. No substitute for our sin was possible except the eternal son, Jesus Christ. For this we should worship, joyfully express thanks, and respond with lives that value Jesus' sacrifice above all else.
Father God, help me to worship you. Help me to be thankful for your good gifts but not to elevate any of them to the supreme place in my life only you deserve to be. Help me to love you as a response to the way you love me. Amen.
What are the things that compete with God for the supreme place in your life? How can you ensure that you keep a love of God above all these things?
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1 Comment
I love reflecting on the passage about Abraham. In my reflection of this story I can fully relate! Abraham longed for Issac! He was a great blessing! But that great blessing almost became his god (or maybe had already started to become his god). I love how God tested him.
n
nI can relate with the gift of a family but then sometimes sacrificing spending time with them to separate myself and spend it with God can be hard!
n
nIt's so easy to ask for a blessing and then with time it becomes your god and you spend more time with it than with God (whether it be a dream job that you end up working long hours at or a house you dreamed for that takes up all your time to keep clean).