Passing The Test
Genesis 22:1a Some time later God tested Abraham.
22:12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
The key word here is tested. This is certainly different that tempting. God never tempts anyone to sin. James 1:13-15 tells us that, “When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, give birth to death.”
We are all familiar with testing. At our very moment of our birth the doctor will test to see if our breathing is cleared, if we are sensitive to touch, if we can suck and other things I am sure. Our parents continually test us to see if we are doing all those things new babies are supposed to do. They encourage us to take our first steps and to peddle faster to keep our bikes upright. We get in school and our teachers daily place papers in front of us to test us making sure we are learning all that we need to know. And for the most part we continued to get tested each day of our life.
I had a friend that had Lou Gehrig's Disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is a terrible disease that gradually weakens your muscles until that person can no longer breathe. When I would visit him, he would tell me that he could touch his fingers. This is how he tested himself every day when he woke up. He knew that one day he would no longer be able to do even that most simple of things.
We test things for the same reason that God tests things. We want to know something!You may be thinking, but I thought God knows everything? Well, if God knows everything then we need to ask why does the Lord told Abraham not to harm the boy, because now he knows that he fears God? The reason God tested Adam and Eve in the garden with the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Cain with not having his sacrifice accepted, Noah in building the ark, Abraham’s obedience to follow him and now Abraham’s total commitment and love for God, was because of the free will that God placed in every person and angels as well. Our free will is what is necessary for us to have in order for us to be able to love God as he desires from us. This is why God created us as he did. God wanted us to be more than entertainment or something to take are of. God wanted a personal intimate relationship with us.
From the beginning with Adam and Eve, God would come to walk and talk with them in the garden. It’s this type of fellowship that God wants with us everyday of our life whether in heaven or on earth, but in order to have this wonderful fellowship there needs to be free will. I believe that God knows what we may be thinking, but as we know sometimes we can change our mind. It is just like the parable Jesus talked about when two sons were asked by their father to go work in the vineyard. One said he would but didn’t, and the others didn’t want to but did.
Everyone is tested by God many times in their lifetime. God never does it for evil intentions, but always for good reasons. God will always do what is best for us, and sometime he will test us to see if we are ready to take the next and greater step with him. Sometimes it is a test of commitment, love or even fear as with Abraham. It is never a good thing to take God for granted or even lower him to the level of a buddy. While we are the children of God and welcome to come and sit in his lap, even call him Abba Father or daddy and Jesus sees us his Bride, we can’t forget that God is Almighty and we need to certainly treat him this way. There is a holy fear that even the angels of heaven have. (Rev 8:1)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help us to always be all you would have us to be, so you will never be disappointed in us. We love you Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit!
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