Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I've been going through a particularly trying period in my life recently because of my aunt's illness. Today I was reading Joel's blog and came across one of his posts which I thought was of relevance to what I was going through. I've always been a big believer of faith, but never eloquent enough to put what I thought into writing (my mother believes this is because of my lack of reading widely). Joel sums it all up nicely:"I’m still searching and praying for my answers, but I’ve also realised that it never is about expecting or obtaining the goodies from above. Rather, there comes a time in our faith where God expects our surrender. It’s also not just about letting go of something into a black hole, but rather allowing God to deal with it, with no strings attached.It’s very easy to become control freaks, to go into a logical ‘If not A, then B’ mode of choice-making. Far too often, we give the Man above our conditions, without ever waiting for his side of the deal. In Genesis 22, we get a relatively controversial case of letting go. After old man Abraham is given a son right smack at the most infertile period of Sarah’s and his life, God tells him to sacrifice the boy at the altar of Moriah. In my humble opinion, it’s a rather insane request for the following reasons.God personally promises a son to the aged couple in Genesis 18:10. Does he really plan to break it this time?God does not endorse human sacrifice.Abraham makes 0 complains (Wow…way to go old chap, the thing you wanted the most is going to be taken away and you just keep quiet?!) and actually takes the knife to kill the kid off.
So I’ve been pondering about what it means to actually let go of the promises we can rightfully claim, or the very things that we should have faith in. One of the most striking (or perhaps in the secular sense, schizophrenic) aspects of Abraham’s character was his faith—or if I might move on to suggest—a radical belief in the unseen things that he continued to hope for. It’s one thing to pray in our state of lack, but quite another to actually give away the things that we can visibly see and touch, especially when we feel justified to believe that God gave those things to us. Can blessings ever be given or sacrificed to God? I find it hard to believe that Abraham knew that God would provide the sacrificial lamb at the end, so to raise the knife on his own son could only prove that he was really mad, or was really certain that God’s promises were way beyond the body of his only son. Yet right after we are relieved of the possible filicide, we come to witness a powerful declaration from God to Abraham. It’s not just a sheer promise of sweet-nothings, but an oath taken by God, so powerful and binding that it resonates even within our present time.
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.” — Genesis 22: 15-17a.Is surrender, therefore, about losing everything? Or does it lead to new possibilities?"This Christmas, my only wish is for my aunt to get well.I believe that with God, all things are possible.
Yinny was Joshing around @ 10:27 AM
