Christmas is a visual season, full of spectacles that invite us to turn our heads and look. The lights, trees, decorations, packages, and culinary treats all call us to take in their displays in wonder.
Pay attention to the word look in our reading today. It invites us to observe something unexpected, and to take note because what is about to happen will be unlike anything before.
A hint of the importance of looking ahead occurs in our reading from Genesis: “Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance” (Genesis 22:4).
From far away, Abraham perceived this significant place—one that would be a place of hope and provision. There he would witness God provide a ram to take the place of his son. Generations later, God would provide His own Son, Jesus Christ, near that same mountain as our saving sacrifice.
We recognize this thread of wonder expressed in His Word.
Israel, put your hope in the LORD.
For there is faithful love with the LORD,
and with him is redemption in abundance.
—Psalm 130:7
Hope in the Lord. Recognize His redemptive plan. See from afar how amazing it is, both in anticipation and completion!
Abraham’s story mirrors the story God put in place to redeem us. It foreshadows the promise in John 3:17, that the baby born in the manger was not sent “to condemn the world, but to save the world.”
In John 1:29, we read John the Baptist’s exclamation, “Look!”, as he urges us to seek out and behold the unexpected and unbelievable, to look past the familiar. Throughout the passages of today’s reading, there are numerous calls to observe the threads of a bigger story unfolding before us. Each story is a piece of a greater story that points toward when the narrative is fulfilled in the flesh and bone of Jesus Christ: “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).
The perfect, sinless baby we celebrate in the manger is the unblemished lamb of God who offered Himself on the tangled wood of the cross to redeem the world. Look past the familiarity of the season, and see from a distance the wonder of the stories that lead to the nativity. Lift your eyes to inspect the wonder of the promise God fulfilled when He provided the lamb, Jesus Christ, to save us.
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All of the details to look further than what’s right in front of you are something that resonates with me.
Behold the unexpected and look past the familiar!! Such a profound statement.
I love this!!!
I have never thought about the story of Abraham mirroring the Redemption story for us. Something to study further for sue!!!
Thank you ladies and to the author Vina for sharing your reflections on Abraham’s faith in this story! I am blown away at all of the little details and have added them to my journal.
Some of your reflections made me think about one of my favorite books, the Dream Giver. One of my favorite parts is when the Dream Giver asks Ordinary to give Him his dream, and at first Ordinary hesitates but when he finally does, the Dream Giver makes it even bigger so that it’s HIS dream and then He gives it back to Ordinary. I know it’s not an exact parallel but I think about how Isaac was a dream for Abraham and Sarah, and then when God asks Abraham to give up Isaac, Abraham obeys and God fulfills His promise to Abraham on being the father of many nations. I am so amazed that Abraham didn’t understand logically how he could father many nations when God was asking him to give up his only biological son, but he believed and obeyed anyway because he knew God was faithful; God had told him he would have a son in his old age and he did. So like Abraham, we all can think back to moments, even little ones, where God has been faithful in His promises in our lives. And if not yet, we can definitely find many in the Bible and in the lives of those around us.
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Today I will pray over this passage for God to hear my thoughts and know my heart:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy. – Psalms 130:2