The Art of Obedience...

Since I last wrote about my journey through Genesis, I've moved from Chapter 15 to Chapter 33. That's way more history than I can cover here. I've seen the lives of Abraham and Isaac played out and am in the middle of Jacob's life. God used these three men to create the foundation of the Christian faith. One thing is clear from reading about their lives - they were not perfect! And I am so glad! That gives us all hope and promise that He will use us and our imperfections and missteps to bring about His will in our world and in our personal lives. We don't have to be perfect - just obedient.

Abraham (Abram) was a descendant of Noah's son Shem. We are not told why God singled him out to become the Father of Many Nations, but we do know that Abraham loved the Lord God, and, thus, found favor in His sight. He married Sarah (Sarai), and she was barren for MANY years. God continued to bless Abraham and Sarah and brought them into the land of Caanan and told him that his discendants would possess this land and they would number more than the stars.Now Abe and Sarah were getting on up there in years (much like Zach & Liz from Luke 1) and still, they had no children. Abe talked this over with the Lord on different ocassions - how was he to be the father of many nations when he wasn't even a father of one child? But God kept promising him it would happen.  And, by-golly, it did - when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was only ten years younger! Now much happened in between including Abe fathering a child, Ishmael, by Sarah's servant. Like I said, he wasn't perfect! But we know that when Isaac was born, Abraham and Sarah were filled with unspeakable joy! God had blessed them and had proven faithful!

Over those years, Abraham learned a lot about what it means to walk with God. He made some serious mistakes along the way, but he never let his mistakes turn him away from following the Lord. Through those years, he also learned about obedience and the consequences of disobedience. He grew into the man who, indeed, could and would be the patriarch of the Christian faith. All of his mistakes, all that sojourning through the countryside, and all the challenges that his life had brought, prepared him for a final test of faith.

God asked Abraham to sacrifice that precious son for whom he had waited so many years. WOW! How could He ask such a thing? It's one thing to sacrifice your best lamb or goat, but it's another thing to give up your only son! Why would He ask such a thing? He had promised that son and had promised to multiply his descendants - he couldn't do that without Isaac.Talk about a turn-of-events that you don't understand! But Abraham didn't even question Him. He just went about being obedient. Now, in the old days, the younger Abraham would have barked back at God much like he did when God told him that Sarah would bear a son. He fell on his face and laughed and scoffed because of their age. But this Abraham was more seasoned in the knowledge and ways of God.

Now, let's stop for a minute and think about this situation. Abraham is walking his only son, the one he had waited many years for, up the hill in order to build an altar and lay Isaac on it and watch him burn to death! What gut-wrenching turmoil must Abraham been going through! Was he arguing with himself, torn between his love for his son and his love for God? He had to be! When that sweet little boy asked "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?" didn't he want to gather him in his arms and run back down the hill? Sure he did!

Was Abe really willing to go through with what God had asked of him? The answer is yes. He built the altar, then took Isaac and bound him and laid him on top of the wood. He took a knife and stretched out his arm to slay him, but an angel stopped him. I picture this as Abe holding that knife in the air, praying to the Father, and as his hand begins to come down toward the boy, the angel speaks - and Abe is stopped in mid-air. I think that because I think God wanted to see into his heart and know that he was willing to give his very best to Him.

Am I willing to give my very best to the Lord?

He was willing to give His very best to me...in Jesus Christ. And He went through with it! The parallel between this event and the sacrifice of His only son is undeniable. God loves us so much that He called for His own Son's sacrifice to take the place of our own. He watched His Son walk up Calvary's hill and be laid out on that wooden cross and die a horrible death - so that I wouldn't have to. "For God so loved the world (that's you and me) that He gave His only begotten Son (that's Jesus) so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

And just as Abraham was obedient to the point of sacrificing his son, Jesus was obedient to the point of literally giving his life for me. God desires obedience. Obedience allows His plan and purpose for our lives to be fulfilled. Abraham did go on to become the Father of Many Nations and the patriarch of our faith.

What is His plan for me, for you? We will never know all that He has planned for us until we learn the Art of Obedience.Sometimes it may be costly; however, He provides the strength and grace we need to get through it.