I used to wonder how God could lie to Abraham about sacrificing his son Isaac. But the story begins by telling us God put Abraham to the test. Abraham himself seems to know it’s a test—in verses left out or our reading, he tells the servants that he and Isaac will return after the sacrifice; he also tells Isaac that God will provide the offering. Apparently, I’m the only one fooled by God.
I don’t know if I would have passed the test. I would have at least argued with God about it, begging him to spare my son. Yet in our second reading, St. Paul reminds us that God did not spare his own son. (Rom 8:32) He passed his own test. Jesus was sacrificed so that God could show us how much he loved us: By dying, Jesus showed us the promise of resurrection, which shows us that we can also have new life by the forgiveness of our sins. If God loves us so much that he gives his Son to die for us, why would he not forgive us? Or as Paul says, if He is on our side, who can hurt us?
What does that tell us about life? You may have noticed that things don’t always go your way. We sometimes suffer for no apparent reason. We may lose someone we love through death. We may be tempted to lose faith when we see wars, killer tornados, terrorist attacks—if “God is for us,” why does he allow these things? Because he is still testing us. And not necessarily testing the victims of these troubles. If I get angry at God because I hear about someone’s death, I haven’t passed the test.
Does that mean those tragedies are our fault? No, God gives everyone free will and some people choose to do wrong. And some accidents are just accidental; no one is necessarily at fault. God intervenes sometimes and lives are saved. Other times, God intervenes by saving us after death with our resurrection. But as long as people doubt God’s love, there will be tests. That’s why it is so important to proclaim the Kingdom: so that someday all people will know God’s love and not need to be tested.
Tom Schmidt