March 17, 2006

A Living Sacrifice

Two figures walk silently side-by-side.  One about to kill the other. 

The older man glances at the knife in his hand.  His grip tightens on the weapon that he will soon use end his companion’s life.  A chill shivers down his spine.  For three days the death scene has played out in his head.  Three unbearable days.  That’s when he first heard the voice and received the command.

“Abraham!” God called.*

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you.”

Abraham froze.  Kill his son?  Sacrifice him as a burnt offering?  Impossible.  How could God even ask such a thing?  Isaac was the pride of Abraham’s life, the joy of his old age and the fulfillment of a divine promise.  For 25 years Abraham and Sarah waited for children.  To no avail.  When age overtook them, all hope for producing an heir seemed lost.  But when Abraham turned 100 a miracle happened and a baby arrived.  The birth brought so much joy that the happy couple named their infant Isaac—which means “Laughter”.

Abraham was wealthy.  Yet all the riches and possessions he owned meant nothing compared to the value of his son.  He would give up everything—even his own life—for his son.  He would certainly do nothing to harm the boy.  Unless commanded to by God.  And now the command came.  Abraham knew God had the right to give and to take away.  Though it hardly seemed right or fair, Abraham understood he was being asked to sacrifice his greatest treasure.  To give it completely to God.

Three days after hearing the voice, two lone figures walked side-by-side nearing the summit of Mount Moriah.

“Father?” Isaac said.

“Yes, my son,” Abraham replied.

“We have the wood and the fire,” said the boy, “but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

“God will provide a lamb, my son,” Abraham answered.

At the top of the mountain father and son build an alter.  The time of sacrifice has come.  Abraham explains to his son what he has to do.  Isaac doesn’t resist.  Willingly he accepts God’s command.  He could run away, but he doesn’t.  In obedience, Isaac offers his own life as a sacrifice to God.

Slowly, painfully, Abraham binds his son and lays him on the alter.  A terrible wave of sorrow floods over the aging patriarch nearly causing him to collapse.  Gathering every ounce of remaining strength he reaches for the knife.  Raising it toward heaven Abraham knows when the blade falls it will pierce two hearts.  His sons and his.  Suddenly, the angel of the Lord cried out from heaven.

“Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’m listening.”

“Lay down the knife,” the angel said. “Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me.”

With a shout of joy Abraham released his son from the alter.  Hearing a rustle from a nearby bush, Abraham spied a ram caught by its horns.  God had indeed provided a lamb.  Retrieving the animal, Abraham sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

That day, three sacrifices took place on the top of Mount Moriah.  One death sacrifice and two living sacrifices.  God provided a ram to be slain as a substitute for Isaac.  In turn, Isaac became a living sacrifice.  By offering himself on the alter, Isaac demonstrated a life completely surrendered to God as an act of supreme worship.  Everything he was or hoped to become he placed in God’s hands.

On the mountaintop Abraham was called to lay his most valuable possession on the alter.  Give it to God and hold nothing back—no matter the outcome.  Through absolute obedience Abraham demonstrated that nothing on earth could hold a higher place in his heart than God.  In that way, he too became a living sacrifice.

Have you ever considered giving something to God?  Sacrificing something for him?  After all, he’s your Creator, your Redeemer, and your King.  Wouldn’t you like to give him something in return?

But that’s the problem.  What do you give someone who has everything?  What can a man or woman offer the King of Kings?  If all the treasure in the world means nothing to him, what could you possibly have that’s worth giving to God?

Just one thing.  Yourself. 

A living sacrifice.  A life totally given over to God.  Nothing held back.  No possession, no action.  No thought, no deed.  All of you given to him.  Now that’s a gift worthy of a King.

“So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.” Romans 12:1 TEV

* All dialogue is quoted from Genesis chapter 22 New Living Translation (NLT).

Todd Chobotar
Mission Development
Florida Hospital