For the Journey Ahead

Good morning my friends. A lot has happened since I last shared my thoughts with you. America has elected a new president, Tom Brady threw his first interception of the season, and the temperature outside finally feels like Fall. And none of these things have to do with what I want to share with you today.

I was thinking this morning about Abram and God's call upon his life, how he emerged out of a polytheistic religion, and what that means for us today. I mean...doesn't everyone think about these things? Honestly, have you ever considered just how difficult it must have been for Abram. Imagine that you are the one walking away from family, from your home land, and all because the One True God has asked you to go to a country that He would show you. This takes guts. But what is even more revealing in this whole scenario is how gentle the Lord was in revealing His true nature. We owe so much to the man whose name was later changed to Abraham. The father of nations. The one in whom all of the nations of the world would be blessed. This one man risked everything because he heard a voice.

In my opinion, the greatest revelation that Abraham received came during a literal mountain top experience. It was there where he took his firstborn son, a length of rope, some firewood, and a knife. Why? Because the Lord had instructed him to do so. A difficult journey to say the least. A burden that he seemed all too comfortable to carry. Has anyone ever asked why? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in Abraham's shoes? Most of us did not grow up in this kind of environment. The thought of sacrificing our firstborn and only child seems so inhumane. But in Abraham's defense this was common to his culture. What is uncommon is what would transpire on the mountain top.

Abraham was dutiful. He carried out the instructions down to every last detail. With knife in hand and both arms stretched above his head the Lord intervened. And it's here where we discover one of the greatest attributes of God's nature. Another second and we would call this mountain the place where Isaac died. Instead it became known as the Lord will provide. Too often we miss the significance of this revelation. 9 times out of 10 our focus has been on the God of Provision. We talk about the God who meets our needs. And while this is true of His nature it misses out of the full scope of what the Lord was teaching Abraham. In this moment we discover a God who does not need sacrifice. A God who provides for Himself.

So often I believe we have held to a belief about God that is more BC than AD. We see Him as one in need of sacrifices and burnt offerings. Even our worship has been described as a sacrifice of praise. Choosing to believe that our offerings of prayers, fasting, self-debasement, and the like will somehow gain His favor. Completely missing out on the reality of what we already possess in Christ. Please hear me in all of this. I'm not saying that we should not pray. I'm not calling for an end of fasting. I don't believe in self-debasement simply because there is a difference between humility and humiliation. What I am saying is that we should be fully enveloped in what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. To fully recognize what He has done in providing Himself for us. That all of our worship, our service, and all the details of our lives flow from this place.

Jesus told us to go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
Have you ever considered the shift in thinking that this creates in a religion that was bound up in blood sacrifices? Can you imagine the anger and confusion that a statement like this would incite? Jesus stepped up the game just a little bit. He moved from a ram being caught in a thicket to being the one caught in the crossfire. God would provide Himself. As He always had. Not only that, but Jesus proves once and for all that how we treat one another matters. That mercy far outweighs any sacrifices that we could bring. That God is more concerned with how we treat others than how we approach Him.

Before we think this is something new, we have to see that this is actually an Old Testament reference. Hosea 6:6 puts it this way: "I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings." (NLT)
What a statement! Imagine what this must have done to the priests. What would happen to them if we removed a sacrificial system? More importantly, what would happen in the hearts of the people if they learned this all important lesson? Imagine a world where we actually were more concerned with showing love to one another. Handling mercy so graciously. Wanting to know God above our service towards Him. Think it would make a difference?

The God Who Provides needs nothing from us. What He invites us to enjoy is a relationship with Himself and our fellow man. He asks us to delight in the things that He delights in. The God who delights in mercy invites us to join in the same. Micah said it so wonderfully:
Do Justly
Love Mercy
Walk Humbly with your God.

Somewhere along the way we have been so consumed with the afterlife that we have forgotten to make much out of this one. We didn't do the math when Jesus said the first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God...and the second was like it, to love you neighbor as yourself. He placed them on an equal playing field. Where we would see them side by side not one on top of the other. So we would understand that to love God with all that we have is to love our neighbor as ourselves and vice versa. And that all of the Law and the Prophets are summed up in these two things. The very same God who led Abraham so patiently has continued to be patient with us. He continues to love while we are trying to pull ourselves out of our wrong thinking. Mercifully bringing us to a place where our altars aren't so significant. Where maybe we will stop trying to kill everything and rest in the provision that He is in Himself, i.e. the Lord our Righteousness, the Lord our Salvation, the Lord our Peace, and the like.

The best that we can do is to do what is right, to love the mercy of our Lord so much that we readily give it, and to walk humbly with our Heavenly Father. For the journey ahead I ask that you consider that this is a life well lived. That these things actually matter. And that your life, along with the lives of others, can be dramatically changed. I think it's time that we learned what the Lord meant when He said "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

Enjoy the Journey!