Kierkegaard considered the clearest example of true faith in the patriarch Abraham. He says that Abraham's great struggle is to obey God's unthinkable command to kill his son Isaac. With the moral law clearly written on his heart, Abraham cannot fathom the conflict before him.
Then came this quote:
"Martin Luther's beloved wife once said to her husband that she could not believe the story of Abraham and Isaac because God would never treat a son like that. "But Katie," Luther replied, "he did treat his son like that."
Yes, He did.
And how much more must this have sunken in for Katherine as she marveled at the purpose behind God treating His son like that. If we are struck by the injustice of Abraham's story, we need only look to the cross to be put in our place. A sacrifice must be made. And while God redeemed Abraham's story by sending a ram to die in Isaacs place, Jesus took full responsibility upon Himself and was obedient unto death.
For us.
I need to let that sink in.
Kierkegaard believed that truth has no meaning if it does not change the way we live. (I wouldn't agree with everything Kierkegaard said, but it definitely gets you thinking.) How is the Gospel changing me today?
A good reminder that the Gospel is not just for the unbelievers, but even for Bible college students!
3 comments:
So true... I love that parallel. :)
Thanks for sharing, Tyler. It's making me think, too...
I love theology. I haven't had time or a season in life to really study like I wish I did, so soak it all up. My only challenge to this would be the question of whether God "treated His Son like this" or if "He allowed it" or even if it was the result of evil in the world and His only means of redemption. Some of it is probably vocabulary--treat, cause, allow, maybe it doesn't make that much difference; what matters is that redemption did happen. Just thought I'd throw the question out there; figured if I were to blog like this, I'd welcome questions:)!
Post a Comment