Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.
In a previous post ("Do I Know You") I mentioned how there is always something hidden; there's always something I don't know. And so assurance is hard to come by without a leap of faith.
When you take a leap of faith, you recognize that this is a long shot. There is a moment of hesitation. There is this closing-your-eyes-and-going for it feeling to it, which makes it "risky" in a sense. We know that God promised Abraham many descendants through Isaac. Sarah gave birth to him, miraculously in her old age. All for God to say:
“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. - Genesis 22:2-3
I
read this, and I think: where was the hesitation? Where was the "why
God?" moment? Where was the begging and pleading? At least sleep in
Abraham! Why isn't he freaking out? He got up early...to kill his promise!
People who don't hesitate have one of two mindsets (I think):
- I have nothing to lose
- What will be, will be
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| Am I to believe Isaac was this buff at 13? |
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "In Isaac your descendants shall be called." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead... - Hebrews 11:17-19
At the time of Abraham, no on had EVER been raised from the dead. So how did Abraham set his mind to think the resurrection of his son--killed by his hand and burned on that mountain--was possible?!
Because God promised him.
And Abraham trusted God. He relied on what he knew about the character, ability, strength, and truth of God. He was solid on it, and it's shocking to me. A resurrection is the foundation of Christian belief...today. But for Abraham it was impossible; but he knew that his promise wouldn't die on that mountain. And it amazes me. It amazes me because I'm quick to give up on the most basic of promises:
"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. - John 14:14
I can get discouraged. I can stop asking for the things that I want/stop praying altogether because it doesn't look possible anymore. But that's because I'm 1) not thinking eternally and 2) I'm not trusting in God's character, ability, strength, and truth.
But Abraham had to get to this point. He had to get to this place. At one point, he thought his promise was shaky enough that he took a concubine in order to have a son. Then, once he actually had the son...he was willing to KILL him, believing that the promise was still intact?! How did he come to this level of faith?
...but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. - Romans 5:3-5
It's a process. We can all get there. Romans 5 is written on the heels of Paul speaking to the righteousness that Abraham found through faith. So Abraham obtained his "ride-or-die" attitude the same way I will obtain mine. Now I just wonder: who will I amaze with my faith?
Hmm. Interesting post. Lots of things that could be discussed.
ReplyDeleteNotice that later God says "now I know that you fear me". Is there a difference between faith/fear/obedience? We have our own conceptions of what these words mean, but I wonder what words were used in the original languages, and how they are different/similar in meaning to the words that we use today.
Many open theists point to this story as support for the idea that God does not know the future. Simply put, the argument goes, if God knew what Abraham would do, what would be the point of testing him in this fashion? Just for kicks? And afterwards God tells Abraham that "now I know that you fear me." Doesn't this imply that God did not know what Abraham would do? How would you rebut this argument?
Regarding faith, there are a few instances where Jesus expresses amazement at people's faith/lack of faith. You can see the level of faith that people have in other religions, despotic leaders, etc. Given this, why should anyone be amazed by a person's faith in something that is true?
Here is another question regarding faith, that I am guessing you have may thought through already. Many Christians believe that explicit faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation. One might ask then, isn't that inconsistent with the notion of salvation by grace? A common response would then be that faith itself is a gift from God. But then you seem to be left with the result that people are pre-selected for salvation. Are you within this loop, and if not, at what point do you break out of it?
Most theologists (and people in general) take the word "fear" in Genesis 22:12 to mean reverence. God does not want us to fear him in the sense that we are shaking in our boots. God wants us to love him. And John 4:18 says there is no fear in love.
ReplyDeleteI think it's hard to point to any one part of scripture and say it supports that God does/does not not know the future, given that much of the Bible is prophetic in nature. As such, the book (as a whole) has to either be looked at as evidence that God does know the future or be disregarded as bunk. There really is no in-between, in my humble opinion.
I think we're amazed not that someone believes something that is true, but rather that they believe something that seems like it couldn't be true. For example, Abraham believes his promise is still through Isaac even though he's about to kill him. He did this, because of his "fear of the Lord". This is especially true if you use the definition of fear found in Proverbs 1:7, which defines "fear of the Lord" as the beginning of knowledge. Abraham came to truly know who God was. As a result, he could express true faith in a way that seems backwards and nonsensical to those of us who have not even come to the beginning of knowledge.
Regarding the amazement of Jesus, I can't speak generally to that, but I think his amazement (as mentioned in Matthew 8:10) is more like admiration, because someone who doesn't fully know God trusts completely in the mere word of Christ. I'm not certain that those words imply an unawareness on the part of Jesus. Especially since He knew so many other things. For example, He knew that Peter would deny him 3x (John 13:38) and He knew every detail about the life of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:17). People seemed to be amazed at how much Jesus did know and it created disciples. The scriptures speak of many reasons why Christ was rejected...His lack of knowledge is not among them.
I don't get into the loop when it comes to grace and faith because scripture inextricably links the two. Romans 5:2 says we have access to grace by faith. Since faith is a gift, your access to grace is also a gift, cementing that salvation is never earned. Whether or not individual people are pre-selected for salvation is truly outside of my sphere of concern. If they are pre-selected, what? If they are not, then what? Does this make it more or less fair? Shall I judge God? I'll pass on that. All I know is that Jesus died 2000+ years ago for the sins of the world (John 3:16), yet that death was planned from a time prior to the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8). I believe this shows that God had eternally planned "grace" as the method of salvation for all mankind.
>>Most theologists (and people in general) take the word "fear" in Genesis 22:12 to mean reverence. . .
ReplyDelete"Fear" and "revere" seem pretty close in meaning to me, but yeah, read in context "revere" does seem to make sense there. I think there is a "fear" element found in the Bible too, though (fear and love are not mutually exclusive).
>>I think it's hard to point to any one part of scripture and say it supports that . . .
I don't think you would need to throw the whole Bible out. The response would be that God can guarantee any ultimate result that he desires, regardless of what happens along the way. But that is different than knowing every single action that will happen between times A and B. I think there are some flaws in the open-theist argument (for example, some of the things that you brought up in your response below) but I don't think the argument is entirely crazy.
>>I think we're amazed not that someone believes something that is true . . .
Yeah, you are right. If I had a son, and God told me to make a burnt offering out of him, I might have a second thought or two (depending on how good he mowed the lawn, of course).
>>Regarding the amazement of Jesus, I can't speak generally to that, but I . . .
You are really trying to shoot down the open theist argument, huh? I would agree that the argument has some serious problems. I was thinking that "amaze" in those circumstances meant something more like admiration/disgust, as well.
>>I don't get into the loop when it comes to grace and faith because . . .
Predestination would not seem fair to me but I don't believe that it is true . . . so I would not have a reason to question God even if I were so inclined (which I ain't). Well, should the question perk your interest in the future let me know. And thank you for the response.