Freely Given

Genesis 22:12 KJV:
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

It is very easy to overlook the lessons of the passage quoted here, either out of familiarity with the storyline or the knowledge of how it all ended. But let me take this from the beginning and relate it to our lives. Picture a man who had walked with God for so many years, yet had no child of his own. He had heard God speak about a child so he wasn't just imagining the promise. That was all God gave him: a wife and the promise. And for 25 years, he waited and waited......... it was as if God needed reminding. How many of us can wait that long for a promise to be fulfilled? How many of us are content with a Word from God, no matter how long it takes for fulfilment? Can we hold on and hold out without deviating or trying to help God achieve his own promise? Can God trust me with higher responsibilities as I remain faithful in the face of little trials of faith?
Abraham's promise from God came after 25 years and then, the same God who promised and fulfilled it was asking for the same blessing again. I believe this is the fulcrum on which our faith and walk as Christains revolve: until I learn that all I hold belongs to and comes from God and can be demanded for anytime by the owner, my Christian journey will lack substance. There's nothing I have and hold now that would have been possible outside of God. There's nothing worth holding on to if that thing has not been given to you. You can't hold on to it for long. If God owns and holds everything, then there's nothing I can claim as my own. Abraham understood that and was ready to offer Isaac back to the One who gave him in the first place; afterall, if God could give him one, God could as well take him and give him many others in return. Hannah's experience buttresses this fact: until I learn that God owns it all, I don't get to keep anything. Everything I hold now is a privilege and a responsibility which must be accounted for.
God knows when our giving is sincere and he will bless abundantly. No one gives so much to God to make God a debtor. God has given the greatest gift that can be given. There's nothing else he won't give together with his Son. No demand on earth, no matter how complex or uniform, can exhaust the resources of heaven. Rejoice, for his time of favour is here.