Genesis 22

An inscription on a cathedral clock reads:

When, as a child, I laughed and wept, Time crept.

When, as a youth, I dreamed and talked,

Time walked.

When I became a full-grown man,

Time ran.

And later, as I older grew,

Time flew.

Soon I shall find, while traveling on,

Time gone.

At the age of seventy-five, Abraham enrolled in the “school of faith.” Now he was over one hundred, and he was still having soul-stretching experiences. We are never too old to face new challenges, fight new battles, and learn new truths. When we stop learning, we stop growing; and when we stop growing, we stop living.

“The first forty years of life give us the text,” wrote Arthur Schopenhauer, “and the next thirty supply the commentary.” For the Christian believer, the text is Habakkuk 2:4: “The just shall live by his faith.” The “commentary” is being written as we listen to God and obey His directions a day at a time. Sad to say, some people understand neither the text nor the commentary, and their lives are ended before they have really started to live.

Genesis 22 records the greatest test that Abraham ever faced. True, it also presents a beautiful picture of our Lord’s sacrifice at Calvary, but the main lesson is obedient faith that overcomes in the trials of life. Abraham teaches us how to face and handle the tests of life to the glory of God. Consider five simple instructions.