Saturday, April 12, 2008

Abraham's obedience to lose his son, his only son

and Christ's obedience to give of Himself, God's son, His only son...

AELW 4:109

"It is a great and truly bitter sorrow to lose the son obtained by so many prayers and tears, and to lose the hope and glory through which he had hoped that he would be the father of the Blessed Seed. In this sorrow he nevertheless comforts himself and maintains that he will have descendants, if not within his lifetime yet after his death, just as Sarah comforted herself (ch. 16) when she thought: “I shall not be the mother of this Seed, for I have not been worthy. Therefore let another be the mother, namely, my slave woman Hagar. Only may the Lord give some offspring!” These are true mortifications. They do not happen in deserts, away from the society of human beings. No, they happen in the household itself and in the government, and from this one can surely form an opinion about Abraham’s extraordinary obedience, which extended to his innermost being."

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