Day 16-All to Win Your Heart

Genesis 22  tells of a particularly interesting account. It is a story of a faithful servant of God who was asked to do something very difficult. Before I get into that story though, I think in order for us to understand it we should try to place ourselves in a similar situation.

So think of that thing that is most important to you in your life; the dream, relationship, job, item; whatever it is, think about that. Imagine that after all this time God has finally granted you this which you've been dreaming of for as long as you could possibly imagine; so you get it and finally you're happier than you've ever felt. However, one day God tells you, 'I want you to sacrifice this to me.' In other words he asks you to give it up. How would you respond to that? What would you do?

Someone in the Bible was told to do just that but it was perhaps even more difficult for him. This person was Abraham and he was told to sacrifice his only son, a son he awaited for twenty-five years. 

Genesis 22:2 states "Take your son, your only son- yes Isaac, whom you love so much- and go the the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." 

Abraham, of course, did as God told him and took his precious child, tied him up and laid him on the alter. Then, Abraham picked up his dagger and attempted to do what God had told him. 

In the end, however, God sent Abraham a ram for the sacrifice and he got to keep his son. 

I can imagine the relief Abraham must have felt when he realized that he didn't have to sacrifice his son. 

You may ask, 'Why was that story so significant?' 

Firstly, because this scenario showed the amount of faith Abraham had in God. Abraham trusted God in spite of the fact that he had asked him for the most precious of all his treasures, (a treasure he wasn't even sure he was going to get) and he was willing to give it up to please God.

Secondly and this is the interesting part; eventually God did that very thing that he had told Abraham to do. He sacrificed his only son! The former story was a depiction of what God was going to do in the future.

Imagine, God loved us so much that he gave up what was most precious to him in order to save our souls'. He wanted us to know that he isn't angry and that he wants to have a relationship with us. 

Abraham loved God so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son but God didn't want Abraham to face that pain.

However, God went through that pain because he loves us so much. He allowed his only son to be sacrificed so that all people could be saved; he broke his own heart so that ours could remain whole.

So if you still think God doesn't love you, think again because what he did was something difficult; he gave up the most precious of his treasures and he did it to win your heart.