| The Ministry of Comfort |
Chapter 5 |
Page 6 |
There is a strange story of Abraham which illustrates on way in which trial must be endured if in it we would honour God. The old patriarch was bidden to take his son, his only son, the son of his love and of promise, and offer him on an altar as a burnt offering. The record says that god gave this command to Abraham to prove him, that is, to see if his faith would endure the test. And God was not disappointed in His friend. After it was all over, the angel of the Lord said to Abraham, “Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son… in blessing I will bless thee.”
Abraham accepted his trial as a trust from God and was faithful, did not fail God. Then who can tell what a blessing his faithfulness has been to the world through the centuries? Other people have been taught by Abraham’s example to give their children to God unquestioningly, willing that He should use them as He will, in whatever form of service will best honour Him and most greatly bless the world.
We are always in danger of selfishness in grief or sorrow. We are apt to forget our duty to those about us. Some good people drop out of their hands the tasks of love which filled them in the days of joy, and feel that they cannot take them up again. Some allow their life to be hurt, losing its sweetness, its joy, its zest. There are those who are never the same after a sore bereavement or a keen disappointment. They never get back again their winningness of spirit, their interest in others, and their enthusiasm in duty. They come out of their trial self centred, less joyous as Christians, less ready to do good.
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