“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.”

¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

^12″He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.””(Genesis 22:1-14, ESV)

It’s sometimes hard to imagine how God the Father loves, even as He is love – the source of love. I think it’s because God is Spirit and you can’t see Him. But you can know His love in how He rescues man through Jesus.

God’s love shines in the story of Abraham sacrificing his beloved son Isaac. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. God promised that He would bless the whole world through Abraham’s offspring. As Sarah was barren, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She gave Abraham her servant Hagar as concubine to bear a physical heir. Hagar bears Ishmael. This creates family chaos and division. By God’s promise, Sarah herself bears a son when she is very old and it is physically impossible for her to bear children. God works a miracle and Sarah gives birth to Isaac. God says His promises will be fulfilled through Isaac, the child born from God’s promise to elderly Abraham and Sarah. (Genesis 21:12)

The Bible doesn’t say how Abraham felt when he obeyed God’s command to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Did Abraham feel fear, hesitation or heartache as he obeyed God? We can only imagine the heart of this father, who waited so long for his beloved wife, Sarah, to bear him a son – and for the fulfillment of God’s promises. We do know that Abraham loved his son, and God counted Isaac as Abraham’s only son in regards to His promises.

Abraham faced many dangers as a traveling sojourner. Time and time again, God helped him to overcome trials. God helped rescue his nephew, Lot, from kidnappers, helped him win a battle with kings, and rescued Sarah from an Egyptian pharoah’s harem. It’s clear from how Abraham acted on Mt. Moriah, he believed and trusted God. He believed that God’s promises would come true and would be fulfilled through Isaac. He acted – to the point of almost piercing his son with a knife – until stopped by an angel of the Lord. Just at the right time, an angel appears and tells him to stop – that God provided a ram as a sacrifice.

Though Abraham offered up his son, Isaac, he didn’t sacrifice him. Isaac lived because God provided another sacrifice. When questioned by Isaac about why they didn’t bring a sacrificial animal to the mountain, Abraham told him God would provide a lamb for sacrifice. On that day, God didn’t. He gave a ram but not a lamb. But thousands of years later, He would provide a sinless Lamb. God, sent His Son, Jesus, to be born in a manger. The shepherds were the first ones to visit Jesus, not because it makes for an idyllic scene. They were there because the Lamb of God – would take away the sins of the world – finally arrived. This Lamb, born to die, prophesied by Isaiah so long ago, would show how much God loved His fallen creatures and creation. It’s God, the Father, who sends His Son, to be born in Isaac’s line, to ride on a donkey into Jerusalem and eventually die on a hill. It’s God who binds His Son to a wooden cross, and pierces Him to forgive man’s sins and give eternal life – and bless the whole world. It’s God who sees and oversees His Son being whipped, spit on, rejected, ridiculed, disbelieved, and tortured. It’s God who hears His Son cry out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” before dying. (Matthew 27:46, ESV). What God asked of Abraham on Mount Moriah, is what God actually did by sacrificing His own Son. His Son dies so that man, cut off from Him by sin, may be forgiven and have life.

We were not born friends of God. Born with a sinful nature, we were born enemies of God – denying His authority over our lives. God provided His Son as a Lamb for sacrifice so that by believing in Jesus, we can become His children. He transforms us from His enemies to His beloved sons and daughters. And God pays the cost. Jesus becomes the scapegoat and we, the true goats, are freed from sin, judgment, Satan and death. Through Jesus, an offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, many children are born – spanning many cultures, languages, countries and time periods. It’s astounding to think that God can create all things, even people – out of nothing. Yet, Jesus is uncreated. He was with God before the creation of the world. God still gives up His utterly unique, sinless Son, to bring us into His family by faith and receive His love and grace. If ordinary fathers can love their sons, albeit imperfectly, the perfectly good God loves His Son even more completely and profoundly. His sacrifice was all the greater because His love for His Son is perfect.

Since God is omniscient, He knew that Abraham would obey. Having been tested and proven obedient, it was Abraham who became more aware that he truly believed and trusted God. The image of a father, Abraham, offering up his son, Isaac gives a glimpse into how far God would go to save us. That is God’s love. No one has ever loved like that. The one verse that believers and unbelievers seem to know is ^“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV). That verse truly encapsulates the entire history of mankind. Out of love, God provided Jesus, the Lamb. At just the right time, the Lamb of God finally arrived – and because of His birth, death and resurrection, we have something to celebrate this Christmas.

We make a list of things we want in this life – especially during Christmas. But what more can be given to us? Jesus, the Son of God, died to give us forgiveness of all sins and eternal life. What more can God the Father give us? For “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?^“ (Romans 8:32, ESV). No matter how wonderful or miserable this Christmas day or season is – we can celebrate. We can celebrate because God made a way for us to have peace with Him and have eternal life. He didn’t just give us physical life, but the assurance of unending life – where one day, we will resurrect from death and live forever in a fully good, righteous, whole and tear-free world with Him.

People’s perception of fathers largely depend on the kinds of fathers they grew up with. Some fathers were absent, some were wonderful, some terrible – with most falling somewhere in between. But on Christmas, we are reminded that in Jesus, God is our Heavenly Father – who loves us with a unending love.

Merry Christmas!