TUESDAY

SCRIPTURE: Genesis 22:1-14

Giving all you have when there doesn’t seem to be enough to go around can be pretty challenging! It is also something that can be influenced by misunderstandings. Last Sabbath, we reflected on the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and the contribution of a young boy who seemed to have very little in the face of so much need. Often, we identify most closely with the boy with all that is involved in sharing what we have. However, the larger part of the story was about how much Jesus contributed. We naturally tend to focus most on what we are personally experiencing, whether it is sharing a lunch, or, in the case of today’s passage, something much more profound! And sometimes, part of what makes things so hard is that we don’t always fully understand what it is we are doing, as was certainly the case in today’s passage. In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus had no interest in making a little boy feel anxious about being deprived of food (the boy might well have been already inclined to share), but rather offered him an opportunity to be a part of something bigger which God was going to provide. Similarly, God had no interest in making Abraham anxious over the anticipated loss of a son (and to be clear here, God has no interest at all in testing to see if we would kill our own children to prove our loyalty). But rather, using a way of thinking that was already familiar to Abraham in that culture, God provided an opportunity for him to gain a greater understanding of the reality that God provides the sacrifice, not us. (Verse 8 indicates that Abraham may already have had some inkling of this.) God was not like the other Ancient Near Eastern gods. For the God of Abraham, sacrifices are never about what we give, but are only to symbolize what God gives. In the context of that time, God was working in this experience to correct a misconception, not to perpetuate one. The anxiety we sometimes feel when we read this story is because, from our perspective, it looks like God is acting like the gods of the time. The point it made to Abraham, however, is just the opposite: that God was not acting like the other gods of the time—which, in context, brings greater clarity.

That is why Abraham names the place not, “What a great sacrifice I was willing to make,” but rather, “The Lord will provide.” As you reflect on this passage, consider the following:

• How do our own misconceptions of what God is like, or what God is actually asking of us, impact the way we give?

• What is the difference between letting go of your own anxiety and trusting in God’s provision and acting foolishly and recklessly? (Note: This is a significant question. There are those who would argue that foolish and reckless action is evidence of faith, when it may be much more an example of not fully understanding the context of the stories they might be reading or appreciating the significance of the clarity that Jesus’ revelation of the character of God provides.)

• How have you experienced the way that God can take our willingness to share or be generous with others and bring something genuinely abundant out of it?

• When you think of giving, do you think of it more in terms of what we are offering, or how we are responding in gratitude to what we have been given?

• To what extent can expectations, or even getting something in return, sometimes get in the way of our willingness to be generous?

As you take a few moments to reflect on what surfaces for you as you reflect on today’s passage, share with God in prayer what is on your heart.