The Greatest Step of Obedience

In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have a beautiful picture of what happened at the cross of Calvary. Here we see a father who was willing to take the greatest step of obedience to God. We also see what happened when Jesus died on the cross for us. The father was willing to sacrifice his son, and the son was willing to be sacrificed.

Most Bible commentators believe that at this particular time, Isaac was about 18 to 20 years old. Some think he may have been around age 33. The Jewish historian Josephus thought he was 25. Whatever age Isaac was, one thing is clear: he didn’t have to do this if he didn’t want to, but he willingly went. Is that not a perfect picture of what happened at the cross? The Father who loved His Son so much offered Him up. And His Son, knowing what was about to happen, willingly went.

Our children are a gift to us from God. We don’t own them. They belong to Him. Our objective is to lead them to the Lord. In the same way, everything that we have acquired in life—every possession, every skill, every ability, every talent—has been given to us by God. I think it’s always a good thing to present these things back to God and say, “Lord, You gave these to me, and I give them back to You.” Are you willing to do that? Abraham was.

We all have our Isaacs in life, so to speak, something or someone that we love so dearly. These are good to present to the Lord, because there is no safer place for them to be than in the hands of God. World changers give everything back to God because everything is from God.