Do We See a Disconnect Here?

It's early on a Monday morning; the weekend is over.

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen 22:2)

Now that would be a rough way to start the week. It is interesting that the first time God brings up love in the Bible is in the same command as a test of Abraham's faith. However, God does use love in the way a father loves his son. The first time man brings up love it is in regard to food (of course) in Gen 27:4. Do we see a disconnect here?

In the law we see a whole bunch of references to love, including the two greatest commandments - love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all of your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself, all of them in regard to loving God and loving other people. Then, along came Delilah in Judges 14:16, in which she uses the concept of love in an attempt to get her treacherous way with Samson. Yes, that disconnect is still there.

We have God on the one side speaking of love and His mercy. Love and testing our faith in Him. Love and doing the right thing always to those we meet every day. Then on our side, we have a man who loves his food, a woman who loves to use love to betray, and many other wrong-headed and sinful examples until we arrive at today and our profusion of diluted definitions for the word love. We still have a bit of a disconnect going on.

One day in Heaven, God looked to His Son, Jesus, and said something like, "It's time, Son. Time for You to go down there and show them what My love really means." And so Jesus arrived as a baby and grew up in His Father's love until He went to the cross to show us the love God has for each of us. The cross of Christ bridged the great divide, and now the dear Holy Spirit of our God has begun His work in us. Work that will show us how to love God, love one another, and love ourselves. He has us well in hand!

Bucky