The Instinct of Apathy: The Story of AbrahamSample

Abraham's Test

God tested Abraham. It is one of the most moving and difficult stories in the Bible.

God called Abraham to take his son, Isaac, the one he had long waited for, and prayed for, and prepare him as a burnt offering. How could it be? How could this be God’s plan?

Abraham had waited so long. What about God’s promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars? And hadn’t Abraham proved enough? Hadn't he passed enough of God’s tests? He had waited. He had left home. He had pressed on through famines and conflict and fear.

So much has been written about this passage, partly because it is so hard for us still to accept. But Abraham moves with a kind of quiet conviction. He obeys by faith.

This devotional is not long enough to work out all the details, or how this scene frames so many of the important Biblical themes to come. But it is worth pointing out in this limited way, how the test forced Abraham back into a life of faith.

Abraham had been sitting beside the tree he had planted. He had his son. He had recently negotiated peace with his neighbors. Abraham was wealthy and had good land to retire on to. Abraham had received everything promised to him. What more requires faith?

It's not hard to find ourselves in a similar place. Sure, you may speak of faith as an affirmation, a belief you hold about God and salvation, but for many of us, the logistics of living require very little of it. We have bank accounts, supermarkets, modern medicine, and upcoming vacation plans. Sure, things may not always go perfectly, but it's not hard to distract ourselves and remove ourselves from it.

God tests Abraham not to torture him, but to keep him from slipping into this apathy, this faithless passing of time. God will keep Abraham awake to his need for faith.

Apathy always shrinks the world around us. As we detach ourselves from what we can not control, we damage those we are called to serve and bear responsibility for. Every time Abraham slipped into apathy and self-protection, he wounded those in his care. The test was a gift, a means of forcing Abraham to reconcile once again what faithfulness before God was really worth.

We don’t often think about sacrifice, but we are still called to it. Each of our lives is supposed to be a living sacrifice to God. Those sacrifices are most important when we feel most reluctant to make them. As apathy begins to detach us from the complexity of the world, God often calls us to once again sacrifice. He does it to save us.

So, we sacrifice time, resources, hobbies, the simplicity of our own plans, and the carefully constructed peace we’ve been desperate to have. God tests us.

How does a test disrupt our instinct for apathy?