Genesis is hard! But, honestly, so is marriage, and learning a new skill, and raising a child, and basically everything else that’s important. Genesis is important because it’s the foundation of our faith. It’s where God’s relationship with humanity started and we get to learn what happened.
This week is no exception. Honestly, it might be the hardest lesson we’ll teach all year. This week, we’re talking about when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Yes, the same Isaac Abraham and Sarah waited for for 9 decades! Yes, the same Isaac with whom God promised to continue Abraham’s covenant. Listen to how God describes him when asking Abraham to sacrifice him: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac.”
Thankfully, as horrifying as it is to each of us to hear what God asked of Abraham, we know that he didn’t make him go through with it. God just needed to know that Abraham was willing to hold onto God first and more tightly than anything else. That’s easy to say when we’re talking about things that aren’t that important to us, but what about when the stakes are high or even at their highest.
For you: note how God described Isaac. Is there anyone else God would have described that way? Of course! That’s how he felt about Jesus – who he ultimately did sacrifice – FOR US! God is never going to ask anything of us that he’s not willing to do himself.
For your kids: We didn’t harp on the graphic details of this story with the kids. Instead, we hit the high points of what God was asking of Abraham and then reminded them that, in the end, God provided for Abraham and Isaac. God provides for us too when we trust him to do so.
Munger Kids 