"The Reckoning!"

 "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." (Hebrews 11:19 KJV)

  "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:19-21 NLT)

 As much as might think I know, there is always something that causes me to doubt, thinking that I know nothing at all; as strange as that might sound, it isn't hard for it to happen, even to someone that thinks they know everything. I reckon, those who think they know everything, don't even have a clue about God!

 When I was saved, back in 1981, there was something that I discovered that made me feel as though nothing else mattered but knowing and learning about God, especially about God's Son, Christ Jesus! I have shared this before, but during the first couple of weeks during my new life in Christ, I worked hard on making a crossword puzzle that listed all the Scriptures that showed or pointed to Jesus Christ being God. 

 Without going too far into the reason that was so important for me to do, let's just say I had been told that He was not God, in so many ways, that I needed to prove it to myself that He was, indeed, God! However, even after that, there would be times when I doubted it was true. For probably twenty years or so, now and then I would have this battle in my mind over the fact that Jesus is truly God, thinking what I have heard and read was wrong, and all of it was a lie. 

 Don't get thinking that I was messed up, because it really wasn't really what I believed: I absolutely did believe Jesus was who He said that He was; I just, now and again, doubted that it was true. If you think that isn't possible for someone that truly believes, then think again, because Peter once proclaimed that Jesus was God, but after He was arrested and being tried, he declared three times he didn't know Him! 

 Here is something that might sound weird or strange; but in a strange sort of way, Abraham actually felt as though Isaac had come back to life. Not to say that he had been killed, because God stopped it from happening. But you must realize what was going on in Abraham's heart and mind, as he was preparing to stick that knife in the chest of his, one and only son, the son of the promise!  

 I can only imagine the joy he felt, when God said, "Stop!" What a relief he must have felt, his son was saved; his life was spared! He had thought all along that God would do something, because He had promised that Isaac was the one; so, he even thought about him being brought back to life, if he had actually killed him. 

 When you truly think about it, I reckon God used this illustration to be the figure of His Son, Jesus Christ, the one that became a sacrifice for our sins! Even though He knew that He would rise again, the thought of what He would endure was overwhelming, so much so, that He sweat blood, praying that the Father would change His mind, and make it all stop! 

 Unlike Abraham's situation, even though God provided the sheep to take Isaac's place, our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, prepared Himself to be the Lamb, saying, "Not my will, but Thine be done"...

"But it was the LORD'S good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD'S good plan will prosper in his hands." (Isaiah 53:10 NLT)