Not Enough
Read Genesis 22:8
In 2013 I was part of hike to raise money a non-profit organization that does amazing work. The goal was ambitious – hike 60 miles in 24 hours. I trained for months, invested in equipment, gathered people’s support, recruited friends to join me, and then trained some more. On the day of the hike I was sure I was ready. I wasn’t.
The first stretch of the hike was brutal – uneven and rocky – and it beat me into submission. Despite all my training, it wasn’t enough. I had to withdraw from the hike having only gone about 15 miles. I felt disappointed and humiliated. The hardest part was watching others continue when I had failed. As it turned out, no one finished. Some came close, but no one finished the journey. No one had enough.
Easter happened for this very reason. No one had enough. When Abraham walked with his son Isaac toward Mt. Moriah, he didn’t have enough. The sacrifice God asked him for was too much. It would cost him everything. His son. His future. His legacy. And even though Abraham was willing to give up everything, it wouldn’t have been enough. The cost of the sacrifice would destroy any benefit. Isaac would be lost and Abraham destroyed. Abraham could not provide a sacrifice that would cover his sin and preserve his future. And so when Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the sacrifice was, Abraham replied prophetically that God would provide the lamb Himself. Abraham believed that God would provide what he could not – the necessary sacrifice.
Many centuries later our Heavenly Father did just that. He provided what Abraham could not on Mt. Moriah. He provided what Moses could not at Passover. He provided what the priests could not year after year on Yom Kippur. The Father provided the one sacrifice that would free us from sin and death and preserve our future. It cost Him everything; it cost Him His one and only Son. One sacrifice, for all, forever. And it was more than enough.
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