What Do We Put Before God?

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:51 am Post subject: What Do We Put Before God?

What Do We Put Before God?

Scripture:

After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. He said to him: Take your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of vision; and there you shall offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will show you.

And they came to the place which God had shown him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it; and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. And he put forth his hand, and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. And he said to him: Lay not your hand upon the boy, neither do you any thing to him: now I know that you fear God, and have not spared your only begotten son for my sake. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram, amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying: By my own self have I sworn, said the Lord: because you have done this thing, and have not spared your only begotten son for my sake: I will bless you, and I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore; your seed shall possess the gates of their enemies. And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
( Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 )

If God be for us, who is against us? He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how has he not also, with him, given us all things? Who shall accuse against the elect of God? God is he that justifies: Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died: yea that is risen also again, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (Romans 8:31-34)

And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. And his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white. And there appeared to them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. And let us make three tabernacles, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he knew not what he said: for they were struck with fear.

And there was a cloud overshadowing them. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying: This is my most beloved Son. Hear him. And immediately looking about, they saw no man any more, but Jesus only with them. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them not to tell any man what things they had seen, till the Son of man shall be risen again from the dead. And they kept the word to themselves; questioning together what that should mean, when he shall be risen from the dead. (Mark 9:2-10)

Reflection:

When our Lord calls upon us, what do we put before Him? We are called to love God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul. Is it possible for us to put Him before all else? Is what He asks too much? What He asks is for us to love Him and the children of His creation. In demonstration of that love, he asks that we give of ourselves selflessly as guided by His Word. In return, He offers us His eternal love and eternal life in His kingdom.

The deceptions of the world lead us to place ourselves before what is asked of us by our Lord. The trap so many fail to see is that devotion to self leads to the destruction of self. God has sought to teach us that a society based upon selfishness cannot stand for it will not care for the least of its number and will only feed upon itself until its own destruction.

As we seek selfish pursuits, we become slaves to such endeavors. Only one is served when what we do is fueled by selfishness. If we re-purpose ourselves and place our trust in the ways of the Lord, many are served and many will be delivered from the strife of evil. If we are devoted to God, we must also be devoted to the children of His creation, for this is what He asks of us when He asks us to follow His commandment to love one another.

In selfishness, there is no room for fulfilling His commandments. The deception of the world is that we may be fulfilled through the love of self, but true love is not devotion to self, rather sacrifice for the benefit of another. What God asked of Abraham was to demonstrate there was nothing before God, that Abraham was willing to sacrifice what he cherished most. When God saw the devotion of Abraham, He relented in the test; but what was only asked of Abraham was given to all by God; His only begotten Son.

It is our selfishness and doubt which opens our hearts to be led astray. When, in our trials, we do not believe in the salvation offered to us, we are thrust into the arms of the world. We are seduced to believe that society is built upon selfish hands, that we are entitled to that for which we have not worked and we do not need to give of that of which we have been blessed. We fail to understand that of what we give shall also be returned through Him, for if we are with Him, He will provide not always what we want, but what we need.

How would we be if we stood in the splendor of the presence of God? Would we fall to our knees and pray for His forgiveness of our trespasses against Him and the children of His creation? Would we stand in awe, wondering how it is we could have ever fallen to sin in opposition to Him? Could we withhold from others what we experienced? Would we be concerned what others would think of us for fear they would not believe what we witnessed? Would our concern for self cause us to deny Him?

Our Lord surrounds us each day. He is forever in our presence, but so many are blind to His light. Even many who profess faith are blinded by the ways of the world. Those who would lead us in faith are seduced to evil. In prayer we must place our trust in the Lord and ask for His protection from that which would destroy us. If we stand in trust with the Lord, then, evil has no place with us.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier