December 6th: Giving Everything

Genesis22:1-2, 7-18

 After these things God tested Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Kill him there and offer him as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

...Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!”

Abraham answered, “Yes, my son.”

Isaac said, “We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb we will burn as a sacrifice?”  Abraham answered, “God will give us the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.”…

Then Abraham took his knife and was about to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”Abraham answered, “Yes.”

The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you trust God and that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.”…

 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “The Lord says, ‘Because you did not keep back your son, your only son, from me, I make you this promise by my own name: 

 I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and they will capture the cities of their enemies. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed me.’”

How many times have your remembered that you needed to get a Christmas gift for a teacher or neighbor or friend and at the last minute, ran into a store and just bought something that looked “good enough” without a ton of thought?  

In this story, God is asking Abraham for a sacrifice.  A sacrifice is a gift to God that comes at great cost from the giver.  The cost is not in dollars or shekels or pesos, no the cost of this gift is a life.  Most often the gift of life that is given is a bull, sheep, goat or a bird, which would have been the very best animal that the giver owned. You gave your best animals for sacrifice because God wanted proof that you were willing to give him control over everything in your life and held back nothing from him. 

Abraham was used to making sacrifices for God, and God had greatly blessed him with land and livestock, which was pretty important back then.  But the greatest blessing that God had given Abraham was his one and only son Isaac.  Isaac was Abraham and his mother Sarah’s greatest treasure. He was God’s promise to them come true.

Now God wanted Isaac back. No sheep, or bull or goat would do.  The sacrifice had to be Isaac for God to really know that Abraham completely loved God and trusted God to bless him.

And, even though Abraham would probably have given his own life to save his son, he walked up that mountain to offer Isaac to God because that is what God asked.  Can you imagine what that must have felt like?  Can you imagine the utter sadness that Abraham must have felt, knowing that those were the last few steps that he would ever walk by his son’s side?

It was a true test of faith and Abraham passed it, because just as he was about to give up his only son, God stopped him and gave him a ram to sacrifice instead.  Knowing that Abraham was willing was all God wanted.  He didn’t require human sacrifice. No, what God wanted from Abraham was his trust, his absolute trust, and when Abraham trusted God with EVERYTHING, God blessed him.

Did you know that God wants to bless you too?  Our joy brings God joy.  The greatest joy we can have in giving is knowing that your gift is a true blessing to others, and a blessing that came at a cost, a sacrifice from the giver. Not just a pop-in-the-store-and-pick-something-up gift, but a thoughtful, loving gift.  This week, we have been challenged to spend less but give more.  How could this be?

To a kid, the spending part isn’t so hard because your parents usually pay for the gifts you give. But what if you gave a gift that came at great cost to you?  What if it cost you your time?  What if you gave something so thoughtful and heartfelt that the person receiving it would know that it came at the cost of TV time, phone time, or even video game time?  That would be a sacrificial gift and the kind of gift that is a blessing to the giver and “getter”. 

Or maybe you could sacrifice getting something on your list so that you could give to someone in need.  You may have one toy less at Christmas, but you would be giving God so much more by choosing to love others over yourself. Take a look at your Christmas list and just think about it.

Discussion Questions:

1.  God wants us to trust him.  How can you show God that you     

     trust him this Advent?

2.  God gave us the gift of Jesus at Christmas.  What are you      

     giving back to God?

Family Activity:  As a family talk about what you are giving God this Christmas.  What are you willing to sacrifice to thank God for Jesus through your action?  The greatest way to show our love to God is by loving one another, so how are you being more loving toward others and spending less on yourself this Christmas season?

Prayer for the World:  Pray that Holy Spirit would level the demonic strongholds that bind the palace servants in confusion and blindness.  They understand loyalty to an earthly king.  May they come to love and worship the King of Kings.