Well, it’s been a while since a sermon really cut me… but this weekend I got a triple shot of one that did just that.
I should probably set this up a little. It’s going to be kinda personal, so if you’re merely in this for quirkiness, read one of my other posts…
My wife and I have been trying to have a kid for a while now. By a while I mean a couple of years. Sure when we first started trying to have a kid, it was probably for the wrong reasons, but at this point we’ve worked out our issues and we’re really ready (well, as ready as anyone can be I suppose) to be parents. Late January ’06 seemed very promising, at first. We found out Ann was pregnant and we were overjoyed, briefly. Within 10 days we went through the stages: 1. Something’s not right, 2. I think I’ve already lost the baby, 3. Wait, I still have the baby, but it’s not likely to survive, and finally, 4. I have lost the baby, and there is something very wrong with me.
Ann ended up having emergency surgery, and the doctors say that if we hadn’t gotten her into surgery when we did, even just a few hours difference could have been fatal for Ann.
So, we have been healing, both physically and emotionally. We’re coming to grips with the fact that we may not be able to have children. We might, but we might not… We’ve started talking about adoption, but we’re not quite ready to look into that, we’re still holding out hope.
Now, on to this weekend’s message… The story of God calling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Now, that’s a powerful story. And I know that Abraham went through a lot more to have Isaac than Ann and I have, but I can tell you right now, that if God asked such a thing of me, after all I’ve gone through to have kids, I’d laugh in his face. Yeah, it’s disobedience, but I have no doubt that that would be my response…
Which scares the hell out of me. God knows that’s how I’d react. So where does that leave things? I dunno. I’m pretty tore up about the whole thing though, I can tell you that much.
19/07/2006 at 8:13 am Permalink
I’ve been thinking about this post now for a couple of days….
….. there are still many thoughts on that sermon from this past week…..
Let me try to sum-up:
1. I think the key to the Abraham story was the “living sacrifice” thing. It’d be fairly easy to give God something that we love that is dead, but something that we love that is alive – that’s another story entirely!! But, it’s those “live things” that are what fight (at least in my life) for that main position of cherishedness – which should be God’s alone.
2. I’ve thought about what Isaac’s response would have been like:
Did he try to out-logic his dad “this doesn’t make sense!! I’m your miracle child!!”?
Did he weap?
Did he completely buy into “God has provided for us before, he will again”?
Did he have doubts?
If he willingly went along, was it because of his trust in his dad, in his God, both?
The scene in my head when Abraham is about to slay his son, is quite terrible – such pain.
I don’t know that I would be able to respond well if I were in Isaac’s position – by the point of being bound, I probably would say “Ok dad, that’s enough – this is crazy!!”