Uphill Both Ways

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dults love to tease children.  It just seems to be the natural way of things and when I was a little boy, I took my share of teasing.  My grandfather owned and operated Carpenter’s Funeral Home in Cherryville, about 40 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina.  The back room of the funeral home was a regular stop for many of the local men and they would come by to sit and talk with my grandfather and with each other.  I wouldn’t want to suggest that any tall tales were told during these sessions, but then again, I wouldn’t want to suggest that everything related in these conversations was exactly the truth.  My best guess is that it was somewhere in between these two extremes.

In any event, I was subjected to all varieties of teasing, ribbing, and all around fun.  I remember complaining about having to walk to school.  My second elementary school was located across town and there were at least two big hills to climb on my way there.  One of the gentleman in the funeral home that day said I didn’t know anything about hard walks to school.  He proceeded to explain to me that when he was small, he had to walk 10 miles to school and it was uphill both ways.  Now, understanding a distance of 10 miles wasn’t all that difficult.  However, I could never quite grasp the concept of walking uphill in two directions.  Every hill I encountered had a downside which made climbing the upside worth all the effort.

As I have grown older, I never have figured out how to climb uphill in both directions; but I have used the example to tease a number of young people.  Yet, the concept of the uphill climb is real and at least in our spiritual walk with the Lord, it sometimes feels that we are always climbing, always pressing toward higher ground with no relief and no downward slope in sight.  Let’s take a brief look at a man who knew all about the uphill struggle to obey God.  Let’s pay a visit to Abraham as he prepares to climb the most difficult mountain in his life, the mountain called, Moriah.

Genesis 22:1-3 records God command to Abraham to take his only son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice on a mountain that God will show him.  Now we need to understand that Isaac is the son God promised to Abraham, claiming that his covenant would be with Isaac.  God made this promise to Abraham when he was 75 years old and Isaac was born when Abraham was 100.  After a twenty-five-year wait, God now tests Abraham, asking him to make the most difficult journey of his life.

God’s command in Genesis 22:2 is clear, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."  There are a few things we must take notice of in this scripture.  First of all, Isaac is referred to as Abraham’s only son.  Now, Abraham had another son, Ishmael, whom he had fathered with Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant.  However, Isaac was the only son born to Abraham according to God’s promise.  Second, Abraham loved Isaac and he loved him deeply.  Not only was he the only child, but Abraham had waited a long time for his birth.  Third, God instructs Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, to give him up.   Finally, the fourth element here is that Abraham had no idea where he was going.  He knew it was in the region of Moriah but he didn’t know which mountain.

So, off he started, the very next morning, with his son, a donkey laden with firewood, and two of his servants.  Can’t you just see this father, on the burning desert floor, walking with his son who was probably firing questions in rapid succession about their journey?  With each question and each step, Abraham’s heart had to grow heavy, to the point of breaking.  And yet, for three days, no conversation is recorded between God and Abraham.  The entire journey was an uphill climb.  For Abraham, the return journey would also be an uphill climb because he would have to forever contend with the fact that Isaac was no longer living.  What an impossible situation.

Finally, God showed Abraham the mountain and he and Isaac went as God commanded.  Just as he was about to complete the sacrifice, God called out to Abraham and stopped his hand.  Abraham had passed the test, had been obedient to God, and had been found faithful to God’s command.

From the outside, this looks cruel on God’s part.  Why would he give Abraham something and then take it away from him?  Why would God play such a cruel game?  These are questions we have all asked, especially when we find ourselves in an uphill struggle where it seems there is no way out.  Perhaps you are in a similar situation today.  Perhaps God is asking you to give up something or someone who is so dear to you that any path you take seems uphill.  Take heart, my friend.  At the top of Moriah, God is there.  You see, Abraham didn’t know which mountain he would climb, but God did.  Abraham didn’t know how God would arrange the test, but God did.  Abraham didn’t know what to expect, but God did!  God was the constant in this test and he is the constant in yours as well.

Whatever you are facing today, however great, however challenging, however difficult, and however impossible it may seem, God knows all about it.  He is there, and just when you think all is lost, he will step in to provide all you need.  That is his promise.  Our job is simply to trust and to obey.  What mountain are you climbing today?