Genesis 22:11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
This passage of scripture teaches us the sacred truth that we must be willing at any given moment to surrender our dearest earthly treasure, to be used by God, however He sees fit. In this instance it was Isaac who was the dearest to Abraham and Sarah, for he represented their hopes and dreams, and was especially dear to them, seeing that he was the product of a direct miracle of God. For many long years they had prayed and waited for the fulfillment of God's promise that they would have a son, and now that he was in his early twenties, God required of Abraham that he offer him as a living sacrifice on mount Moriah.
Prior to this, Abraham had manifested a rare faith in God, because he had willingly obeyed God's command to leave family and friends and his native land to go into a strange country that he knew not of. The Bible says that he obeyed and went out, not knowing whither he went, and for this he is commended in the scriptures. However, this sacrifice did not represent the relinquishing of his dearest treasure on earth, for the son of promise was to trump all other concerns and interests. God has no problem whatsoever in us having dearest earthly treasure in the form of family members or material blessings, but the problem occurs when we are not willing to give them up when The Lord requires them of us.
This is what took place with the rich young ruler, who had become so attached to his wealth that the invitation of Christ for him to leave all and become a disciple was too great a sacrifice in his estimation, and he went away sorrowful. Prior to this final decision of his, he had claimed to love God supremely, and to have obeyed all the commandments, but there was one sticking point, in that his inordinate love of riches took precedence over the love of God, and thus when there was a confrontation between the two, his decision showed where his heart really was. Let's read:
Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him".... "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
In our own experiences we too may claim to love God with all our heart and soul, but there may be one sticking point which keeps us from surrendering our dearest treasure to God, and for this reason, whenever a collision of these two interests occur, our decision is in favor of our cherished interest instead of God. With some, the dearest treasure may be material blessings and wealth, and in other cases it might be a lover who is averse to God and righteousness, but who claims to love and cherish the one in question. With others it may be a job, or position and honor in society, whilst many more have entertainment as their main idol.
Whatever it may be, we must as Christians be willing at any given moment to give it all up for the sake of Christ, for anything or anyone who is esteemed as more precious and valuable than God, then becomes a god to us, and if not relinquished willingly to Christ at His request, will bind us in shackles that will carry us down to eternal ruin, from which here will be no recovery. Let us therefore take stock of ourselves, to see if there is some cherished earthly treasure that could possibly cause a separation between ourselves and God, and if so, let's ask Him to give us a heart and mind to surrender all on the altar of sacrifice.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reveals where our order of priorities must be, if we intend to have Christ reign supreme upon the throne of our hearts, and it is the will of God that any necessary changes be made without delay. Let's read:
Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!