The God You Always Needed

The God You Always Needed
Genesis 22:1- 14

Let’s begin with a question. What is God like? There are several answers that can be heard from time to time. One is that God is “The man upstairs.” This usually means that God is remote, distant, and only occasionally checks on people to see what they are doing. Another answer is that God is a heavenly Santa Claus, who gives people what they want if they ask. Some have said that God is a kindly old grandfather who smiles at his grandchildren and lets them do whatever they want to do. A contrast to that is the God who is the heavenly police officer who strikes when someone does something wrong. All of these are answers to the question “What is God like?”

The story of Abraham and Isaac gives another answer to this question that is unlike any of the ones that have been listed. If there was a newspaper article about this story, the headline would probably read: “Father Caught in Attempt to Kill His Son”. The article would say that Abraham said that God told him to do it. If we heard that story about someone today, we might say that this man is mentally ill and needs treatment. Or we might say that this is an evil man, a threat to society, who needs to be in prison. This would be one of the worst possible events that we can imagine – a parent seriously injures or kills their own child. That is not the kind of parent that we would want, or would want to be.

And then there is the question about God. What kind of god would tell a parent to kill a child? That doesn’t sound like the kind of god that we would want. It sounds like a crazy, evil god. Nevertheless, this is what the story about Abraham and Isaac says – God told Abraham to kill his son Isaac, and Abraham was going to do it. But there are also some things that the story does not tell us. It doesn’t say why God told Abraham to kill Isaac. And it doesn’t say why God gave Abraham an animal to kill, instead of his son. If we can look beyond the problem of a parent killing their own child, then this story can tell us something about God and about faith in God.

One lesson from this story is that God does not solve all of our problems. Sometimes we get the idea that if we believe in God, and go to church, that we will be happy. We may think that will solve all of our problems, and that God will provide all that we need. But the purpose of faith is not to make us happy, or even to solve all of our problems. The purpose of faith is to make us faithful and truly alive. That means that we will feel both joy and pain. Indeed, faith can lead us to experience greater joy and greater pain. We hear about both in the words of Jesus. He said “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” And in The Lord’s Prayer he taught us to pray for forgiveness for our sins. The words of Jesus address both joy and pain. They remind us that faith in God does not solve all of our problems.
Faith in God can indeed solve some problems, but it may also create other problems. In Abraham’s case, Isaac was a wonderful, unexpected gift from God. The challenge for Abraham came when God asked Abraham to offer the gift back to God. The gift of Isaac solved one of Abraham’s problems. The command to sacrifice Isaac created a new problem for Abraham. One problem was solved, and another was created. That sometimes happens with faith in God.

Another lesson from this story is that God expects total commitment and radical obedience. It reminds me of the breakfast example. That is, if you have eggs for breakfast, then the chicken was involved. But if you have bacon or sausage, then the hog was totally committed. Abraham is totally committed to God. When he is told to offer his son Isaac to God, he doesn’t hesitate. He is ready to do it. But we have to ask, what was he thinking? Was he thinking that God knew what He was doing and would provide the sacrifice, whether it was Isaac or something else? Or was he thinking that if he killed Isaac that God would bring him back to life? Or was he simply remembering God’s promise to bless and multiply Abraham and his offspring, and that no matter what happened, that God would keep His promise? Whatever he was thinking, there is no question that Abraham was totally committed to God, and ready to be totally obedient.

It might be helpful to ask ourselves, when do we follow in the footsteps of Abraham? The ready answer seems to be – whenever we make sacrifices, and served at our own expense. We might note that faith has a certain amount of unreasonableness to it. When we attend worship services, it may seem like a waste of time. When we pray, our prayers may seem ineffective. When we give our offerings, it may just feel like we are helping the church to pay its bills. But there is more to faith than meets the eye. Faith means saying “yes” to God in ways that may seem unreasonable, but that show we are totally committed to God . The good news of faith is that God is totally committed to us, and calls us to be totally committed to Him, just like Abraham was.

Another lesson for us in this story is that God is both a tester and a provider. God will challenge our faith, and challenge us to grow. But along with the test, God will provide everything that we need to pass the test. Abraham would tell us that the tough part is that God will test us, and that the good part is that God will provide all that we need. Our faith and our commitment to God are tested every day. When we hear that someone needs help and we are able to help them. When someone cuts us off on the highway, or follows too closely. When we have to choose between work time and family time, or giving and keeping, or self-expression and self-control. We can remember that our faith is being tested, and that we will always have enough, because God will provide everything that we need.

What kind of God do most of us want? It would be great to have a god who solves all of our problems, doesn’t require much of us, provides all of our needs, and most of our wants. That’s the kind of God that most of us want. But that is not the God of Abraham and the God of Jesus. Their God creates conflict and difficult choices for us, challenges us, and both tests and provides for us. This may not be the kind of God that we want, but it is the kind of God that we need. We need a God who will test us and bring out the best in us. We need a God who calls us to be totally committed and radically obedient. We need a God who will bless us and provide everything that we need.

The challenging part of faith is that God will test us. The good news is that God will provide everything that we need to pass the test, and that we can be totally committed to God and totally blessed by God.