NOTES for Gen 22:1-18

We strive toward God with an irresistible force. And it seems to us that we are achieving something along this path. We understand something; something comes to us; we grow close to our brothers and sisters and to our spiritual father. And it seems to us that this is what is purest and best in me and in my life, that this is my fortress and my stronghold. I know dozens of prayers by heart; my favorite prayer beads are always with me; no one can take this away from me. And we set all this against the dark, raging world, seeing in it a bright and warm refuge. If this is so, we must be prepared for the Lord one day to ask us to give up all of it. For He will understand that our “spiritual life” has become more important to us than He Himself. And if we fail to understand this trial correctly, our end may be very sorrowful. Nothing on earth—not even the people closest to us, not even the one person who was the sole witness to your confessions before God—can be dearer than God Himself. This thought frightens us, but only because our faith is small.