Day 342, Year 1

Resolve A Feeling of Inconsistency 

“He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” (Hebrews 11:19 NASB)

From the authors of Hebrews, we know that Abraham believed in the resurrection of the dead. This is the key to resolving the seeming inconsistencies in God’s different speeches. God granted a promise to Abraham to give a son, Isaac, saying that those born of Isaac would be his numerous descendants. But before Isaac was married, God gave a command to Abraham to sacrifice him on an altar. As a result, the only way he could think of it was to believe that his son would rise from the dead. So, after Abraham decided to sacrifice his son, it was really as if he had received his son from the dead, because a goat was sacrificed to God instead of him. Similarly, there are some plausible contradictions in the Bible, but with God’s wisdom, they all can be resolved. Yet I won’t discuss the suspected Canaanites’ custom of human sacrifices and compare it with Abraham’s experience.

The resurrection from the dead is at the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It is also very likely that we will experience death before we are raised and finally go to heaven. Indeed, if we believe in Jesus, we also believe that we will experience the Lord’s death and resurrection. Then, in our daily lives, we can no longer live in fear. It is because if we are not afraid of our own death, we can then have the courage to meet all the challenges God has given us, especially when He is our helper. We are also not afraid of despair or dismay because He is the one who leads us back from the dead. If it were your faith in the resurrection of the dead, you would be like Abraham, not afraid to sacrifice your earthly love on the altar, as God commanded.

God usually asks believers to offer our most loved on earth on the altar, just as Abraham sacrificed Isaac. If we love someone or something in the world the most, we can hardly be genuine travelers on earth. If anyone loves God’s promises or blessings more than God Himself, idolatry is the sin that alienates him or her from His love. Thus, when God tells us to sacrifice our earthly favorites on the altar, He is indeed doing it for our good. When we have the mindset of having nothing, we can be real travelers on earth toward heaven. If people refuse to offer what they love before God, it reveals the difficulty in their faith and that God is not the real master of them. Do we believe in God, or only in His promises or blessings? When God wants to take away what we love on earth, do we still love Him with all our hearts?

Reflection questions:

1) Do you feel that there is any contradiction in the Bible? If so, how would you respond?

2) Is Jesus’ resurrection always the hope of your life? If so, can you always obey God without any fear of anything or anyone?