One Reason for Abraham’s Unshakeable Faith in Him

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When I think of Abraham, I always think of him as the Father of Faith.

However, I believe his title is universally acceptable since many Bible stories portrayed his unshakeable faith in Him. Being familiar with most of his stories in the Bible, I want to know why he was so faithful.

I recently listened to a podcast episode by the BibleProject titled "Dismantling the tree" in the "Tree of Life" series. The connection between the Tree of Life and Abraham's faith fascinates me. This episode inspired me to write this article because I learned that:

Abraham's faith in Him came from his willingness to choose the Tree of Life instead of the tree of knowledge.

I will use the story in Genesis 22 to illustrate Abraham's unshakeable faith and how the Tree of Life connects to it.

"And he said to him, Take your son, your dearly loved only son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge." (Genesis 22:2)

"And Abraham got up early in the morning, and made ready his ass, and took with him two of his young men and Isaac, his son, and after the wood for the burned offering had been cut, he went on his way to the place of which God had given him the word." (Genesis 22:3)

From the previous chapters in Genesis, we know that Abraham had been waiting for decades for his son, Isaac, to be his inheritor. God wanted to test him by asking him to offer his son as a sacrifice. It sounds brutal from a human perspective.

The craziest part is in the first section of the third verse.

I realized Abraham did not even ask for an explanation from God nor argue with God as other biblical characters did.

He woke up early and did what God told him to. I was astonished by his unshakeable faith even though his son's life was on the line.

"Then Isaac said to Abraham, My father; and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, We have wood and fire here, but where is the lamb for the burned offering?" (Genesis 22:7)

Below is Abraham's answer to Isaac, which I will never forget. It was full of calmness and wisdom.

"And Abraham said, God, himself will give the lamb for the burned offering…" (Genesis 22:8)

At this point, I was still unsure what Abraham had on his mind. But, I am sure he fully trusted God's decision on the sacrifice he would offer. After setting up the altar,

"And stretching out his hand, Abraham took the knife to put his son to death." (Genesis 22:10)

Here comes the climax. Abraham was pulling out his knife, and he was trying to offer the sacrifice told by God.

So let us pause for a minute. We see many faithful acts from Abraham in the Bible verses above.

But what is the main reason for Abraham's faith?

Abraham's faith in Him came from his willingness to choose the Tree of Life instead of the tree of knowledge (Repeated above).

I am sure he felt doubtful about his actions, but he was obedient and faithful towards Him. He did not question the reason God chose his son as a sacrifice.

If Abraham had used all his human knowledge acquired during his lifetime, he would have asked God why it had to be his son.

Fortunately, God immediately stopped Abraham and chose the sheep as the sacrifice.

Praise the Lord! Abraham passed the test on his faith!

I found a quote from Martin Luther King that gives a good visualization of what faith is.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." (Martin Luther King Jr)

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Abraham chose the Tree of Life. How about you?