The
story of Abraham and Isaac is central to the origins of three of the world’s
major religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It illustrates that the
Lord’s people must be willing to make great sacrifices to Him to show their
faith. The story begins when God explicitly commands Abraham to sacrifice his
only son Isaac on a mountain. Abraham, Isaac and a few servants travel by
donkey for three days until they find a suitable mountain. Abraham is forced to
lie to his inquisitive son, who notices that they have brought no animal to
offer to God. Abraham tells Isaac that “God will provide himself a lamb” for
the ritual burning. On the mountain peak, Abraham prepares a pyre and is about
to slay his son when God stops him. The Lord rewards Abraham for his
faithfulness by decreeing that his descendants will “multiply . . . as the
stars of the heaven” and inhabit all the nations of the earth.
TRUE
SACRIFICE
True
sacrifice is not a common phenomenon in today’s world. Most people are not
willing to give up everything for a greater purpose. Perhaps this is
reasonable; it is much easier to live a comfortable life than it is to channel
all your efforts into one cause. However, the most important events in modern
history have come only as the result of great personal sacrifice. The founding
fathers risked treason against the British Empire to fight for their high-minded
ideals. Over the centuries, countless soldiers and martyrs have given their “last full measure of
devotion” to fight for those same ideals. True sacrifice is a quality that we
should all respect for its power and importance in the human story.
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