Advent Week 4—LOVE
By Maile Soto, discipleship director
Genesis 22:1-18 NKJV
The Sacrifice of Isaac
22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together.
7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide[a] the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac[b] and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn,” this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies. 18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.”
Matthew 26:36-46
The Prayer in the Garden
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.
44 After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? See, the time is near. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up; let’s go. See, my betrayer is near.”
John 3:16 CSB
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 8:32 CSB
He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?
Sacrifice & Love
By Maile Soto
This probably seems like an odd choice of Scriptures for Advent season. I certainly thought so when I read them in my She Reads Truth Advent book earlier this month. I’ve always struggled with this story of God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. I’m not very comfortable with talking about sacrifice—literal or metaphorical. Can you even imagine how much Abraham must have trusted his history with God that he didn’t question or argue? He simply had faith that God would provide. That no matter what happened on that mountain, what God had promised would still come to pass. I’m blown away by that kind of faith.
In combination with the other Scriptures, it’s easy to see how Abraham shows us such a beautiful picture of God the Father. The angel of the LORD tells Abraham, “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son…” (v.16) Sound familiar? This is just like God the Father. He did not spare His own Son, His beloved Son, but gave Him up for us. What sacrifice! What an expression of love!
Just like Jesus. In the verses we read above, Jesus, on His way to the cross, cries out to the Father—“Is there another way?? Cuz, if there is, I’d really like to take THAT path.” (My own paraphrase, obviously) Three times He asks for another way, and each time He ends up at—“Not as I will, but as You will.” Sacrifice. Because of Love.
Sheri Wohlfert, writing on catholicmom.com, says, “When I look at Jesus on the Cross … it reminds me that there is more love poured out on me than I could ever imagine.”
1 John 4:10-11 CSB
10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
As we close out our Advent season for 2023 and look ahead to 2024, may we be struck once again by the wonder and magnitude of the Love of God, who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us. And may we be willing to lay down our own lives, day after day, in all the little ways (and sometimes big ways) that Holy Spirit leads us and prompts us, as we learn to love like He loves.
Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus as our Savior! Thank you that we can trust in Your goodness, Your provision, and Your promises. Thank you, Jesus, for showing us what Love looks like. And, Holy Spirit, we ask You to continue to nudge us and prompt us and show us what sacrificial love looks like in our everyday lives. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear all that You have for us this coming year.
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