Mountain Movers

Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead. (Hebrews 11:19)

God blessed Abraham's life in a profound way because Abraham believed that God could do anything and everything. This included God doing something that Abraham himself had never seen done before, raising someone from the dead. Truly, Abraham didn't need God to prove Himself to him. Abraham wasn't looking for a sign from God either. God's word was good enough for him, and because of that, there wasn't anything that would be too difficult for him to do for God.

First of all, Abraham reasoned. He deeply contemplated what God could do. The Bible says that we should love God with all of our minds. That's what Abraham did, and it strengthened his faith to the point where he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for God. Faith in our lives involves reasoning and recognizing how amazing God is. Paul is a great example of this. In Acts 26:8, he addresses a group of royalty by asking them, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" He was able to boldly profess his faith to them by first mentally establishing his own personal belief in God and then through reasoning with them. In Acts 17, it shows that it was Paul's custom to match wits with the most influential religious leaders from the Scriptures. Certainly, he got faith from having deep personal study of the Word. Romans 10:17 states that we get faith from the Bible. However, merely reading the Scriptures like we would an entertaining book isn't enough. To get the full benefit (blessing), we must immerse ourselves in the Bible, followed by probing, pondering, investigating and meditating upon the deep truths of God's Word. We may not have the opportunity that Abraham had to have personal contact with God himself, but we can connect to God whenever we want via the Bible.

Abraham was convinced that God could raise the dead. For Christians today, God expects us to have the same faith that God is able to raise the dead. Nobody alive today has concrete evidence that anyone has been resurrected--it is purely by faith that we are to believe that. Yet whenever a believer is baptized into Christ, they are spiritually being raised from the dead! That is a far greater miracle than when someone is physically raised from the dead. The last part of Hebrews 11:19 says that Abraham received Isaac back from the dead. Because of Abraham's faith, his hope in God was fulfilled.

Proverbs 13:12 states that "hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life." We can see that longing can either end up in having our heart's desire or in utter anguish. The Bible tells of stories of faithful submission resulting in victory, and of the reverse, of the devastation of unfaithful suffering from broken hearts. The most hopeless situation imaginable is knowing that someone is about to die. That is, in the eyes of the world it is tragic. Yet, in the eyes of Christians, it is seen differently. I have been to many Christian funerals. While there may be mourning knowing that we will never see that person again here in this life, there is also a sense of sweet comfort knowing that they are in a place that is far more glorious than we could possibly imagine. In heaven there is never-ending joy, wonder, and love. Heaven is hope fulfilled infinitely.

Because of Abraham's faith, he would see his hope fulfilled personally, for his family, for his generation, and for countless people in the future generations. His temporary sacrifice resulted in eternal blessings. God tested him incredibly but also assured him beforehand of the amazing reward in store for him.

God also tests us in a similar way today. In Mark 10:29ff, we read: "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields-and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life". Jesus gave an incredible promise that applied to anyone who is willing to sacrifice for the gospel. What we give up is replaced multiple times.

There is one distinct difference between what God promised Abraham and what Jesus promises us. With Jesus, we are also promised persecutions even after we sacrifice for the gospel. God continually prunes, shapes, and molds us as He refines our character. In Hebrews 12:11, it says that "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Abraham experienced a harvest of righteousness from God because of his faith. We know, however, he didn't just get it served to him on a silver platter. God tested and trained him. In the same way, only those who have been trained by discipline will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace. It involves faithful endurance and an unwavering belief that God will fulfill His promises.

Nobody who enters heaven will ever question the painful hardships that they had to experience on earth for the gospel. Of the eleven apostles who survived Jesus'death, ten died martyrs' deaths and one was exiled. In the world's eyes, their deaths were tragic. Yet in God's eyes, their deaths were rewarded with an eternal.

In the next chapter, we will look at the life of Isaac. Surely, he must have felt the pressure of following in the Patriarch Abraham's footsteps and continuing to live out the promises God had given his father. However, Isaac's faith was instrumental in shaping the future destiny of a nation and millions of people in the generations that followed him.