The rich young man who refused to give away his
wealth in exchange for eternal life in Matthew 19 seemed to be a nice guy. He
followed the Law and was an all-around good person. We might have faulted him
for being a little conceited since he started the conversation with misplaced
confidence in himself, but nobody’s perfect, right?
What if the rich young man had followed Abraham’s
example? God asked Abraham to give up his most precious possession. “Take your
son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love… and sacrifice him as a burnt
offering.” (Genesis 22:2)
By the end of the episode, we see the good
accomplished. Abraham packed up what he needed except for the usual sacrificial
animal. He traveled to the designated spot, built the altar, and laid Isaac on
it. We don’t know what either person was thinking, but we can be sure of one
thing. Both trusted God for the outcome. Either God would raise Isaac back to
life, or God would give Abraham another son to fulfill the promise of a zillion
descendants. Above all, Abraham knew if God asked something of him, it was
worth doing.
God waited for Abraham to raise the knife, ready to
slice into Isaac’s throat, before He called a halt to the sacrifice. He
repeated His promises and added a few details. Abraham could rest in the
knowledge that God would keep His word (Hebrews 11).
Back to the rich young man, one of those promised
descendants. What if he had listed his assets, had advertised sales on every
item he possessed, and had begun to unload his wealth? Maybe God would’ve halted
the proceedings after a while. Or maybe He would’ve helped the man build
another fortune once he had learned how to give. Would the rich young man have
grown into a rich old man who enjoyed the challenge of making money followed by
the delight in giving it away?
Hebrews 11 lists others who gave up everything to
follow God. God challenges every generation of believers, asking every follower
to hand over something or someone precious, if for no other reason than to see
where our trust really lies. A twentieth
century missionary who inspired me was Lydia Prince. Her biography, Appointment in Jerusalem, leads up to her
own “sacrificing Isaac” moment.
Sacrifices can be connected to our writing as
well. We often speak of the daily sacrifices required in committing to writing
toward publication. Those sacrifices are necessary, and we’re happy to do it. But
has Jesus ever asked you to sacrifice
the writing—or a particular story—and move on to something different? Perhaps
a different project you weren’t thrilled about. Perhaps, setting down your pen
and closing your laptop with no guarantees He’ll allow you to return to the
passion of your life.
All you know is that He promises blessings for
your obedience. His promised blessings are rarely instantaneous. Abraham never
saw the promise of his descendants prospering as a nation while he lived on
this earth. Yet he trusted God. His name is revered in the history of three
major religions.
Lydia Prince did gain her heart’s desire once she
gave away her greatest love. Like Abraham, she emerged from the test with more
faith in her God than ever.
But the rich young man went away sad, no longer
confident in his own “goodness.” I hope he changed his mind at some point,
trusted Jesus’s words, and gave it all away.
As a writer, has God asked you to sacrifice a work
so close to your heart that He’s testing to see if it’s an idol? If He has,
would you be willing to respond here with a comment? Have you seen the blessings
that came from such an obedient sacrifice?
Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids
ages ten to fourteen. She is currently working on a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own
experiences growing up with a deaf sister.
Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until
school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe
age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing
passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her
students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft. She still visits
the school and teaches creative writing workshops.
Where
Linda can be found on the web:
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