Living in the Spirit
June 23, 2014
Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:1-14
After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ —Genesis 22:1-2
Of all the scriptures in the Bible, these two verses would be my pick of the first two to edit out, if I drew such an assignment. Of course, I will never draw that assignment. On a visit to Monticello, I saw the Bible from which Thomas Jefferson had removed all the parts he did not like. So I am apparently not the only person who just wishes some things were not in the Bible. Lots of commentaries have been written trying to make sense of these two verses in light of what we think we know about God. There has been conjecture about what this whole story is all about and rationalizations to make these verses more palatable. The bottom line seems to me to be that God really means it when God commands us to love God more than anything or anyone else.
I have wondered how much it was God testing Abraham and how much it was Abraham testing Abraham regarding his fidelity to God. I think we need to remember that Abraham had already given up one son, Ismael. Abraham didn’t kill Ismael but he clearly did not know what the boy’s fate would be sending him and his mother out into the dessert with a bag of water. Did the father in Abraham need to treat these sons equally? Tradition has it that Abraham maintained a loving and long relationship with Ismael visiting him regularly. I doubt if he took Sarah with him on those trips.
This I do know and it is a paradox. If we truly place God first in our lives, loving God with all our hearts, minds, and strengths, our capacity to love others grows exponentially.
Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to love you more nearly to the way you want to be loved so that we are enabled to love ourselves and others in the way you want us to love. Amen.