Time of Testing

A TIME OF TESTNG

(Genesis 22.1-19)

I am not the easiest person with whom to live. There must have been many times that Joyce has wondered what she let herself into when she said "I will".

True she promised to love me "for better or for worse for richer or for poorer in sickness and in health......till death us do part". Nevertheless, each day together begins to adjust those rose tinted spectacles of the wedding day, as she discovers more about me.

Yet we are still together - though when she returned to Liverpool recently and I told a parishioner that she had left me after only four months, the only reply I got was "I’m surprised she lasted so long"!

I am sure there been many times in recent weeks when Joyce has asked herself "Why on earth did I surrender the freedom of the single life for married life?"

It is very easy on the spur of emotional excitement to say "I will"; it is much more difficult to say those words as one becomes more and more aware of the irritating habits and eccentricities of one's partner.

And yet, if two people really love one another, they are able to accept both the bad times as well as the good times as being all part of the rich tapestry of life.

It is in the encountering and the embracing of the bad times that one’s love is not only tried and tested, but also strengthened to face the next difficulty ahead.

If that is so between the love of a husband and wife, it must also be so between our love for God and his love for us.

Can you recall the emotional excitement of the day of your Confirmation when you surrendered your life to God?

Can you recall those high ideals you set yourselves? And can you still recall that certainty you had then of your love for God, and more importantly God's love for you?

And yet as the years roll by, our senses become numbed, our vision blurred and our expectation dampened, as we encounter the trials and tribulations of life, and we try to reconcile our day to day experience of life with our understanding of God.

At times God often appears a long way off and we feel neglected, unwanted and unloved, and we find ourselves echoing those words of the psalmist:

"How long, O Lord:

will you forget me for ever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,

and grief in my heart, day after day?

How long shall my enemy triumph over me?"

Yes, our honeymoon with God quickly comes to an end and we find ourselves back in the real world. How we wish we could rekindle that magical moment of our Confirmation and be assured of his presence with us once again.

"Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God,

Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed over him!'

and my foes rejoice that I have fallen".

Yes we fear that our friends will mock us and say "We told you so" as I am sure some of Joyce's friends are waiting to say. We told you not to marry him. We told you not to commit your life to God in Confirmation, "Now you see, he has let your down."

As one of the saints of old, whom I am unable to track down at the moment, once observed: God does not deserve to be loved when he treats his friends so badly.

St. John of the Cross describes such spiritual experiences as being "the dark night of the soul", when God appears to be absent just when we need him most. He assures us that though the tunnel may be long and dark, there is light at the end of it. It is a way of God testing our love for him.

I think the psalmist must have realised this. Deep down in his unconscious self he still knows that God would not let him down. And so he affirms his belief that God will come and rescue him.

"But I put my trust in your mercy,

my heart is joyful because of your saving help,

I will sing to the Lord,

for he has dealt with me richly

I will praise the name of the Lord most high".

There comes a time in all our lives when we are called upon to live our lives by faith and not by sight. Times when all the tell-tale signs of God's presence in our lives are absent and all we can do is to trust, just as a husband and wife must learn to trust each other when they are apart. It is at times like this that our love for God is not only tested, but also richly rewarded and enabled to grow stronger.

This is how, I would suggest, we should seek to interpret the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.

The clue to its significance lies in those opening three words, namely "God tested Abraham".

Before God could use Abraham further in his hidden purposes, he needed to be reassured of his continued love and loyalty.

How total was Abraham's surrender to the will of God? Would he, if necessary, be prepared to sacrifice his only son upon the altar?

And how total is your surrender to the will of God? Is there any limit beyond which you would not go to demonstrate your love for him?

So let me leave you with a personal question upon which to ponder.

What is the most cherished possession God is asking you to sacrifice upon the altar this morning to prove how much you love him? After all, we know how much he loved us whenever we look at the cross.