阅读经文 

神告诉亚伯拉罕，把他所爱的儿子作为祭物献给祂。神为什么会要求他这样做呢？

假如我是亚伯拉罕，我应该会找借口不把我的儿子献上：神啊，这岂不是背弃了祢的应许吗？祢是否应该先去问问我妻子的意见？如果祢要求我献上我们的儿子，我岂能忽略她的意见呢？当邻居询问我：“你的儿子在哪里？怎么好久没有见到他？”如果我告诉他们我已经把我的儿子献给神了，会发生什么事？就根本而言，把人作为祭物献上，是正当的吗？

我可以提出很多问题和借口而不行动，然而亚伯拉罕却遵照神的话去行。当亚伯拉罕带着以撒到摩利亚地时，作为一个深爱儿子的父亲，他内心的痛苦实在难以想像。

当亚伯拉罕凭信心顺服神时，神是怎样做的？神便叫他看见一只公羊，可以用作燔祭来代替以撒。多年之后，神也预备了另一祭物，就是祂自己的爱子，即代替我们受死的耶稣。作为世人的救主，耶稣舍弃了祂自己的性命，偿还了我们的罪债，又赐我们永远的生命。

神是一位深谋远虑，又高瞻远瞩的神，祂预先为我们的将来作好准备。信靠这位神是何等大的福气啊！

God tells Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. Why would God ask such a thing?

If I were Abraham, I would have searched for excuses to not sacrifice my son: God, doesn't this go against your promise? Shouldn't you also ask my wife about her thoughts? If I'm asked to sacrifice our son, I can't ignore her opinions, can I? And what would happen if I told my neighbors that I sacrificed my son when they asked me, "Where is your son? I haven't seen him in a while"? Is it even right to sacrifice a person in the first place?

I could come up with lots of questions and excuses. But Abraham obeyed God's words. Imagine the pain in Abraham's heart, as a father who dearly loved his son, as he took Isaac away to Moriah.

And when Abraham obeyed God by acting in faith, what did God do? God showed him a ram that could be sacrificed in place of Isaac. Many years later, God also prepared another sacrifice, his own beloved Son, Jesus, who died in our place. As the Savior of the world, Jesus gave up his own life to pay the price of our sin and to give us eternal life.

God is the thoughtful God who looks and prepares ahead for our future. What a blessing it is to believe in God!