The Abrahamic Lifestyle 7

DIVINE OWNERSHIP

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself

himself a lamb for a burnt offering; so they went both

of them together  - Gen 22:8

The birth of Isaac brought a season of celebration into the life of Abraham. He was full of joy because his long-awaited heir has finally come. So, when God told him to sacrifice the child, we would have expected him to question God for the rationale behind such a command. He could have resisted and told God why it was impossible to perform such a sacrifice. Isaac was more than a son to him: the fullness of the promise settled upon him. Sacrificing him means sacrificing all Abraham’s hope and the future of his descendants.

Rather, we saw Abraham exhibiting total obedience. On his way to the place of sacrifice, Isaac asked him for the lamb to be used for the burnt offering. His response was that God would provide for Himself a lamb for burnt offering. We may wonder why he uttered such a statement. He was the one that needed to perform a sacrifice, not God. How could he expect God to provide a lamb when He (God) was obviously not performing any sacrifice?

Abraham said this because he understood that there is Divine Ownership upon all he had. He knew fully well that God was the real owner of everything in his possession: he was just a custodian. The child was God’s property and if God required it, he was not in a position to deny the Owner His right. It was God who needed the sacrifice not Abraham. So, it was God’s responsibility to provide a lamb for His own sacrifice.

Like Abraham, we must come to the realization that there is Divine Ownership upon all that we have. Whatever is in our possession was given to us by God. A lot of Christians have problems with giving. They believe they own everything in their possession. Nothing in our life should be too much to give to God. God demanded the most important thing in the life of Abraham and he didn’t delay in offering it. We too must not delay in sacrificing that Isaac (time, money, resources, etc) when God demands.

As Abraham laid his son on the altar of sacrifice, God gave him a better substitute. Not only that, because of his total obedience, God poured upon him unending blessings. He received the blessings he never bargained for. He left home in grief but came back rejoicing.

Learn to obey and give to God without holding back anytime he demands. Total obedience is the key to greater blessings. Giving to God by helping that fellow in need without any attached conditions will bring about abundance of blessings that the finite human mind can never imagine.