“Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are children of Abraham.”

-Galatians 3:6-7

Who was the hero of Abraham's terrifying sacrifice? Was it willing Isaac? So supple, so submissive to his Father’s purpose? He so willingly ascended that mountain of fire and death. Each step was one closer towards his inevitable doom. The heart of this young man must have been sublimely terrorized, yet his heart failed him not. The trust Isaac had in his father is absolutely irreconcilable to my fallen mind. I am therefore tempted to tip my hat to Isaac, and proclaim him to be the hero.

I would be doing Father Abraham a very serious injustice were I to exclude his side of the account. How is it possible that God could work so much through a man that he would be willing to plunge a dagger into the heart of his laughter? Isaac was that life, that joy, the bright beginning to his every morning. He had been the cheer of promise whence comfort nursed his heart upon every setting of the sun! What color is the blood of laughter? What would be the scent and fragrance of its burning upon Gods required altar? This is resolve, this is tenacity…I can imagine the sweat of purpose and effort dripped from the tip of the blade as it hung precariously over the heart of his joy. This sweat must not be perceived to be induced by fear, but rather the sweat of effort. The fragrance of which must have been tinged with trust.

With blade raised, ancient muscles were taught, burning and flexing with the fire of submission. This old mans eyes focused intensely upon the destination of his resolve. No mechanical device of death would have sufficed. Visceral contact with the subject of promise was essential. The hand that was to deal laughter’s death blow, was required to feel the blade extract the life from his most cherished hope. The heroism, the passion, the zealous affection, the power of this moment in history is only rivaled by what this story was intended to foreshadow.

This same faith whence Abraham was declared righteous dwells in us if we are in Christ. How is that working itself out? The fact of this whole matter is…God was the hero because He led these men to this point. Are we trusting Him to perform His radical authorship in our lives? Or are we so self absorbed that we just don’t care?

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Jeremiah Dusenberry