The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1915-12-31

lE$$$5Sss3sM T@3:8$2:# II lOT WHICH, ue Is
HfsSW tried he shall re-
ceive the crown of
life" Abraham
had been tried by the Lord many
times, but this last supreme trial has
some characteristics which are COM
mon to many Christians experience.
Unexpected.
It is said that after these things
God did try Abraham" After a life
| journey Of nearly one hundred and
twenty-five years. After all the expert
| ences which were packed into his life.
After the birth and coming to age OF
the promised son. At time when it
would perhaps seem as though the life
was completed and only needing the
| final touch OF being taken away from
the scene around him. He may have
| felt that now he could rest little in
his old age and, like Job, Idle in his
nest" But there never is perfection
is never done. Today's goal is but the
starting point for tomorrow. Many Of
the Lords people come to time when
they feel as though their life were COM
plete. They have come over rough
paths and hard ways. Trying expert
ences have been met, but it seems that
these are all in the past and now, hav-
ing passed them, they settle down as
though there were an end of the test
! ings and they had come to rest But
suddenly, in sweeps harder test than
| any before. 1t comes all unexpected.
Or they think they have conquered
some part of the old nature and need
not watch it longer. Then one day
there comes the fierce attack, unlocked
for and unexpected. But blessed is the
man that endureth the unexpected
| temptation.
Unexplained.
AS far as the record goes, the Lord
gave Abraham no word of explanation
concerning the Offering UP Of Isaac.
God simply told him to take his son
whom he loved and offer him q burnt
Offering. Abraham was human, like
ourselves, so we can readily believe
that into his mind, as SO often into our
own, there sprang the question, Why?
| We desire to know so much of the
Lords doings before we are ready to
obey him. What a mark of unconscious
unbelief it is when we try to inquire as
| to why God does this or that in his
dealings with us. He applies the test
and then, before we meet it, we want
! to know the why" for it. We show so
much Of distrust when hanging back
from doing as he says because we do
not understand. But Gods trials are
not all explained. He seldom lets us
know why, for IL we knew there would
be little opportunity for faith to ope
rate.
Unreasonable.
God had promised Abraham that In
Isaac should his seed be called. Isaac
was the heir of the promises. Through
the years of Isaac's youth Abraham
knew that nothing could possibly take
away Isaac's life. In Isaac was cen.
tered the promise of a great multitude.
II anything happened to him, there
fore, the promise Of God would be OF
none effect. We can imagine Abraham
| Ia
threatened the life of his boy, that II
was impossible for him to die or be
killed, for how then could the promise
be fulfilled? How unreasonable then
It seemed for God to tell him to take
this boy and slay him. Would he not
be tempted to ask, How then will the
promise be kept?" Would not the
tempter suggest that either God had
forgotten his word or he was making
q mistake, or that Abraham had mis-
understood the message? How often
we are tempted to question the reason
ableness of Gods actions. But here
again, If we understood all that God
was doing, the walk by faith would be
changed to sight. God wants not rea'
soners but believers. And blessed lie
the man who endureth temptation
even when 1t seems unreasonable.
And Abraham met this test with su.
preme faith. The book Of Hebrews de-
clares It was by faith he obeyed HE
obedience was prompt, unQuestioning,
accomplishing, deliberate. He did not
hesitate to obey, Mere was no inquir
ing into the reason for offering Isaac,
strange as such a thing would seem.
He did not wait to see how God would
fulfill his promise, but by faith he OF.
fered up Isaac, Of whom It was said,
that Gin Isaac shall thy seed be called
| The secret Of such faith leading to
such obedience is found when the test
has been met and the victory won.
God said to Abraham, Lay not thine
hand upon the lad; for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast
not withheld thy son from me-" The
fear of the Lord is the secret of obodi
ence.