Faithful Obedience

“Abram went as the LORD directed him.”

Genesis 12:4a

Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent from our Lenten devotional, “Return to Me.”

No sooner after gifting a son to Abram and Sarai, God asks him to sacrifice him. On the surface it does not make any sense. Why would God ask Abram to take an innocent life? It is contrary to God’s nature. Whenever we read of these situations we must remember that God never contradicts Himself and Scripture can never contradict God.

So, Abram (later Abraham), our “Father in Faith” is obedient and takes his son Isaac up the mountain. When Abram was about to sacrifice Isaac, the angel tells him to stop and to not lay a finger on the boy. Through Abram’s actions, God saw that he was faithful and obedient. Abram’s faithfulness is a reflection of God’s faithfulness.

Just as Abram was willing to sacrifice his son if it should be the will of God, the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins by being nailed to the wood of the Cross. God will never ask of us what He would not do Himself.

We get a glimpse of this faithfulness in the Gospel where we recount the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mt. Tabor. Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up the mountain and He is transfigured before them and they saw Jesus in His glorified state. Moses and Elijah appeared before them. The three Apostles experienced heaven for a brief moment. They were told, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”

Just as Abraham was faithful like the Father, Isaac was obedient like the Son. That must be the relationship that exists between father and son. The parent has to be faithful in his or her commitment to the child, and the child must be obedient to the parent, trusting that whatever they say or do is for their good. This is how we must be with God.

Do we trust in God’s faithfulness? Do we believe that God will do what He has promised? Will we be obedient to the Father? Will we follow His Laws and His Words? Will we heed what He said to the Apostles, to listen to His Son, whom He has sent into this world for the salvation of souls?

The Father loves us so much that He did not spare His only begotten Son, and the Son loves the Father and us so much that He was obedient to His Father even unto death. May we have the courage to love and be obedient to the end.

Father, I know You are faithful, teach me to be obedient.