The story of Abraham and Isaac is difficult for us to understand.  It’s shocking.  It’s offensive.  And for many of us, it confirms our view that the Old Testament God was mean and wrathful.  But is that really the case?  Is that really the message God is sending with this story?

I don’t believe God ever intended to take Isaac’s life.  He didn’t change his mind half way, or wimp out.  He intended to teach Abraham the He is loving and merciful, but it also requires submitting everything to following Him.  Those lessons hold true to us.  But we need to look at the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus.  And that means we get one more message to take away.  God never intended to take the life of a child.  Instead God wants us to understand that he will go where he won’t even call us to go.  God wants us to see that he’s a God who sacrifices for his people.  That he’s willing to pay a cost that very few of us would dream of paying.

God would never sacrifice a child.  But he’ll sacrifice himself.

Does that sound like an angry, vengeful, merciless God to you?  Or does it sound like a God who loves us more than we can even understand?

photo provided by flickr user CP Storm