December 6 Isaac: Gen. 22:1-14

As a child, the story of Abraham and Isaac truly left me shaken and confused. How could God mess with Abraham that way. I often thought about what my own father would have done if God told him to sacrifice his youngest child. That would have been me. I was angry with God for telling Abraham to do something so abominable and I was angry at Abraham for so willingly agreeing to do it. I had to content myself that back in those days, maybe fathers didn't love their children as much as they do these days. I'm sure that wasn't the case. In fact, other than the sadness a father in this situation would feel, he would have lost a lot more. Children in those days were far more important to the future of the family - especially a boy. Abraham wasn't only willing to sacrifice his son, he was willing to sacrifice his future. 

I guess this story is meant to demonstrate in the most dramatic way that we have to be willing to give to God whatever He asks of us and frankly that scares the hell out of me. As a child, I feared that He'd tell my dad to sacrifice me. Now, I fear that He'll take my own children away from me. If He wanted me to give up the most important thing in my life, that would be it. I think a parent's biggest fear is losing their children. Maybe that's the point. God didn't in fact want Abraham to sacrifice his son - only God was willing to do that. What God wanted was Abraham's willingness to do so. As God's children, we have to be willing to sacrifice anything that is more dear to us than God. We may have to sacrifice our egos, our selfishness, our pain, our worldly goods, our comfort - whatever we are clinging to - in order to attain true joy. 

If you read past today's bible passage, it goes on to say that because Abraham was willing to do as God said, He would bless him with offspring that outnumbered the stars in the sky and the sands on the sea shore. That's the thing with God. He may ask us to do difficult things, but when we do, He is far more generous than we can even begin to imagine. 

For today's reflection, I'm going to try to figure out what I can sacrifice to God. I will need to reflect and wait to find out what He wants me to sacrifice. Then, I pray that I have the courage to be willing to do what He wants, no matter how difficult that task may be.