I have never liked the story of
Abraham taking Isaac to Mount Moriah at the urging of God and to there offer
him as a sacrifice. I know that it was
simply a test, to see how Abraham would respond and if he indeed would obey God
at all costs. It seems to me that God
tested Abraham at the beginning by requiring him to go from Ur to the vicinity
of Jerusalem and again when he told him that his offspring would be as numerous
as the stars in the sky. He also tested
him when he gave Sarah and Abraham a son at their old age. Why is it necessary now to see whether or not
Abraham is obedient? God certainly had
plenty of evidence of this great man’s loyalty.
Sin is certainly a constant in our
lives. Paul tells us not to sin
willingly because our sins will be forgiven, even if that is certainly the
case. What God gave to all of humanity
in the gift of his only Son Jesus is the constant of forgiveness. That God’s love for all of us is stronger
than any attempt that we might make to make gods of ourselves. I am heartened by this wonderful information
because of the age that we are living in where bombast and arrogance seem to be
the political means at work. Looking
back at history, this has probably always been the case. Attila, Alexander, Napoleon, Mussolini,
Hitler and Stalin were all arrogant and narcissistic and they produced a great
deal of injury in this world. Through
perseverance and care, these people were all defeated and better cultures took
their places. We still have people like
this trying to rule the world; but it seems clear to me that this is not the
way of God. The tyrants in our midst
will all find that their way is not God’s way and they will not ultimately
prevail.
When I look at the life of Jesus of
Nazareth, I see a deeply Godly man who lived a life of constant love. He taught, healed, forgave and moved his
world forward. He created a group of
followers who took his life and his teachings into the world to continue his
work. Jesus eventually lost his ministry
and his life to those who thought that they were superior to him. The people who ruled the church and the
society conspired to shut down his work by arresting him, trying him and
crucifying him. This was their way of
dealing with a threat to their arrogant work.
The wonderful ending of this story is the resurrection of Jesus and his
appearance to his disciples and sending them into the world to continue his
work. All of those disciples, except
John lost their lives also, but the love, the care and the forgiveness that
Jesus brought into this world continues today in the work of the church
universal. God’s love prevails.
awesome blog!
ReplyDeleteavanza