ODJ: let it (all) go

Eat, Our Daily Journey | January 23, 2011 12:02 am

January 23, 2011 


[Abraham] tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood (v.9). 

READ: Genesis 22:1-14 

Karl Rabeder is an Austrian millionaire, but not for much longer. He’s giving away his entire fortune, more than 3 million pounds. His 3,455-square-foot villa overlooking the Alps, his six gliders, his expensive Audi A8, his country estate—all will be sold. As Rabeder told The Daily Telegraph, “My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing.” The money will fund his microcredit charity that will serve underdeveloped countries. Rabeder said he kept hearing these words: “Stop what you are doing—all this luxury and consumerism—and start your real life.” So that’s what he’s doing. Abraham faced a moment where he had to decide if he would let go of all he held dear. In one of the Old Testament’s more disturbing stories, God asked Abraham to take his beloved son Isaac to Moriah and “sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains” (Genesis 22:2). Bewildered, Abraham must have wondered why God would make such a horrific request. Isaac was not only his son but also the fulfillment of God’s promise—the promise to finally bring the joy of a child to Abraham and Sarah and the promise to build a great nation on the earth from Abraham’s descendants (18:18-19). And yet, God asked Abraham to give up his faith in these promises. To surrender—not his own life—but the life of the boy he loved. How will we respond when God asks us to give up everything, even the things He’s given us? Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on the altar. He raised his knife, prepared to obey God. Mercifully, the angel of the Lord bellowed, “Don’t lay a hand on the boy! . . . for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son” (22:12). God wanted Abraham to be willing to release absolutely everything to Him. Will we? —Winn Collier

NEXT
What do you find most difficult to surrender to God? What does that thing represent, and why do you cling to it so tightly? 
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