Purify

Genesis 22:12 (NIV)

Do not lay a hand on the boy.

Sometimes, God has to purify our faith. There is a fine line between faith and fanaticism. Blind faith or obedience leads one to chop off their arm without cauterizing their spirits. Abraham, formerly Abram, was from Ur, or the land Chaldeans, which is in modern-day Southern Iraq. It was common practice for those people to sacrifice their children to appease the "gods." Being from a pagan background, Abraham still had that sacrificial mindset. God had to purify Abraham's faith by instructing him that he wasn't the one to offer the sacrificial lamb but that it was God Himself Who would offer His only Son, Jesus of Nazareth, as a sacrificial lamb. This story of Abraham was not just about testing his obedience but also about purifying his faith.