I’m pretty sure that if God asked me for my couch, I’d give
it to Him…really without thinking twice about it…
I’m absolutely positive that if He asked me for my nice
clothes, I’d have no hesitation giving them away…
chocolate, listening to my Ipod, having my own room or any host of the things
God’s blessed me with… I don’t know if everyone shares these sentiments, but
honestly, these things just aren’t that important to me…
I’ve been observing that these aren’t the things that God asks
of me…I still have my couch and have no belief that God wants me to give it
away…He doesn’t seem to ask the things of me that are easy to give…
Which means one of two things has to be true: a) I don’t
make the connection when I lose things that are unimportant to me…probably
because I don’t care or b) God doesn’t really care about those things either
because what He’s really after is, well…me.
In 2 Samuel 24, King David is adamant that He will pay for
the land upon which to make His sacrifice to the Lord saying “I will not give
to the Lord that which costs me nothing.”
The Abraham and Isaac story has always been of particular
interest to me. God could have
asked for ANYTHING of Abraham, his wealth, his servants, his livelihood, all of
which I’m sure Abraham would have willingly given.
I find it intriguing that God was very specific in His
promise to Abraham. In Genesis 17:
19 God says “…your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him
Isaac. I will establish my
covenant with HIM as an everlasting
covenant for HIS descendants after HIM.”
asked of Abraham when He asked for the sacrifice of his son Isaac. Not only was Isaac the fulfillment of a
promise (again, not just any “son” born to Abraham…very, VERY specifically,
Isaac), but Isaac was truly what Abraham loved most. His most prized treasure and possession.
This morning my pastor shared a story that iterated this
again, the story of the “Rich Young Ruler” who came to Jesus saying, “I’ve done
it all, I’ve followed the rules, I’ve lived admirably, I’ve earned a reputation
for ‘righteousness’….what more do I lack?”
Jesus didn’t ask for him to follow more rules, to beat his
will into even greater submission, to make good choices, to discipline himself,
to spend more time in the word, to regulate his temptations and never sin…he
asked of him what he loved most…
“Go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, then
come and follow me.”
God’s not interested in our comfort or entertainment, not
really even in our satisfaction or fulfillment…at least not nearly as much as
He is in our character and our completeness.
What do you love most?
If you genuinely have a desire to follow God, eventually He’s going to
ask you for it.
In Hebrews 11, the “Faith Chapter”, it says “Abraham
reasoned that God could raise the dead.”
Even in the face of God’s apparent reneging on His promise, Abraham
believed the supernatural would happen…an unrelenting trust in God…a faith that
surpassed the logical and reasonable.
What would this world look like with men and women living
with this kind of faith? What
mighty things would happen? What
nations would be shaken? What kind
of hope would the hurting and lost find?
What kind of true satisfaction and fulfillment would exist in our
hearts?
If we’re going to see that happen, it’s going to cost
us…literally everything.
We’ve got to live with a reasoning that if what I love most is given to
God…I reason that He can bring His promises literally back from the dead.
In this season of support raising, I’ve had to look at this
role in this light…I truly love what I do. What if God asks for it back?
He may not, He could definitely provide more than I could possibly
imagine. I still need 15-$100 a
month supporters or 30-$50 a month supporters. You could be a part of God’s ultimate plan…and He may
literally bring your Isaac back from the dead as you live a life of
faithfulness. “Support Me” is on
the left over there if God leads.
