The Gift or The Gift Giver?
“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” - Matthew 22:37
Yesterday, we looked at the two key reasons God tests us: to purify and to clarify. If the test is to clarify something, then what God is trying to determine is whether He is our ultimate priority.
As Abraham and Sarah’s only son, conceived in their old age, Isaac was their pride and joy. They loved him very much, a remark noted in the text because they had built their future around this long-awaited child.
It is as if God had been watching Abraham for some time and had begun to notice how Abraham held that boy. He saw how much time Abraham had been giving to his son— playing with him, wrestling with him, kissing on him, and embracing him every chance he got.
Perhaps God noticed changes in Abraham’s worship life since Isaac was born and wanted to determine if Abraham would be as committed after he got blessed as he was before he got blessed.
If you are a Christ follower, you know how this goes. While we are in the season of seeking a miracle, we are always on our knees in prayer, but after the miracle comes, we don’t pray like we used to.
Now that Abraham has been blessed, God wants to determine whether He was still first and foremost in Abraham’s life. He tells Abraham to put it all on the alter not because He wanted Isaac’s life, but because He wanted Abraham’s heart. He wanted to determine whether Abraham loved the gift more than the gift giver.
In Matthew 22:37, Jesus says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Is Jesus first in your life or is it your job? Are you more committed to your stuff or are you more committed to the Savior? God tests us the same way He tested Abraham: to determine whether our relationship with Him is our highest priority.
Yesterday, we looked at the two key reasons God tests us: to purify and to clarify. If the test is to clarify something, then what God is trying to determine is whether He is our ultimate priority.
As Abraham and Sarah’s only son, conceived in their old age, Isaac was their pride and joy. They loved him very much, a remark noted in the text because they had built their future around this long-awaited child.
It is as if God had been watching Abraham for some time and had begun to notice how Abraham held that boy. He saw how much time Abraham had been giving to his son— playing with him, wrestling with him, kissing on him, and embracing him every chance he got.
Perhaps God noticed changes in Abraham’s worship life since Isaac was born and wanted to determine if Abraham would be as committed after he got blessed as he was before he got blessed.
If you are a Christ follower, you know how this goes. While we are in the season of seeking a miracle, we are always on our knees in prayer, but after the miracle comes, we don’t pray like we used to.
Now that Abraham has been blessed, God wants to determine whether He was still first and foremost in Abraham’s life. He tells Abraham to put it all on the alter not because He wanted Isaac’s life, but because He wanted Abraham’s heart. He wanted to determine whether Abraham loved the gift more than the gift giver.
In Matthew 22:37, Jesus says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Is Jesus first in your life or is it your job? Are you more committed to your stuff or are you more committed to the Savior? God tests us the same way He tested Abraham: to determine whether our relationship with Him is our highest priority.
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When God Feels Silent but is Still at WorkHow to Rebound After a Crushing LetdownWhen Your World Falls Apart After You Did Everything RightGod Is Still Building Roads in the DesertThe Chapter That Comes After TraumaWhen Hope Feels GoneWhen Your Words Start Working Against YouGod’s Resume Is Bigger Than Your SituationWaiting on God is Not Doing NothingBefore Circumstances ChangeGetting In Your Bag When Life Feels UnfairWinning With a Bad HandOverlooked, Insulted, and Still ChosenPrepared in the Field Before the Giant AppearsYou Were Trained for This MomentTaking Off Armor That Does Not FitFormed in the Field, Not on the StageWhen the Battle Is Not Actually YoursWhen You Feel the Urge to Go Through God’s PhoneFaith After Disappointment Still CountsKeep Showing Up Even When You Are ConfusedLocked Doors Do Not Stop JesusWhen You Need an Encounter for YourselfDoubt as a DoorwaySaying What Hurts When God Is in the RoomWhere Faith and Fear CollideShutdown Does Not Mean FinishedWhen Opposition Shows Up Mid-ProgressBuilding Without Responding to the MockeryA Mind to Work in the Middle of WearinessThe Wall Rose Because the People Did Not Quit
February
When Faith Blocks the ViewThe Cost of Carrying the CrossPower Was Never the PointGod Meets You Where You AreFaith That Chooses People Over ProfitWhen the Cross Loses Its MeaningClearing the View So Christ Can Be SeenWhen Worry Becomes a Way of LifeGod Is Not Surprised by Bad LeadershipWhen God Writes on the WallGod Controls the ClockGod Is Watching the ScaleWhen God Writes the EndingYou Do Not Have to Carry This AloneWhen Life Feels Like a JungleWhat You Are Leaning On MattersPeace Comes From the InsideRemember What God Has Already DoneProtecting Your Peace on PurposeWhen You Have to Say It Out LoudTrust Is a Long GameWhen Joy Breaks ContainmentGod Shows Up in Hard SeasonsKeep Moving When Everything Says StopGet Ready for What You Are Praying ForFaith That Is Willing to WorkWorship Is How We Acknowledge God’s HandDarkness Does Not Decide the Outcome
March
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1 Comment
Amen to that,. I do belive that God put us through tests everytime..to see how much we appreciate the blessings,if we find ourself slacking off of our prayer life after he blesses us,it won't be long before he sends us some other test,we call it trouble,it doesn't last always,but it does come to test us,it seems as soon as we get over one thing here comes another,for me it is sickness.but thanks be to God through it all he promise never to leave or forsake us.pass the test