Chapter 1 A Consecrated Life - Far Eastern Bible College

But finally Abraham concluded that God knows what He was
doing, and must somehow be able to keep His promises, perhaps even
by raising Isaac from the dead. With a very heavy heart he took his son
with him up to Mount Moriah. He built an altar and then laid Isaac on it.
But just before the dreaded moment when the knife was to be plunged,
the Lord sent an angel to stop him. Abraham had passed the test. And
God congratulated him with these words, “now I know that thou fearest
God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me”
(Gen 22:12). We can imagine the great sense of relief and joy that
Abraham must have felt as he received his son back.
Dear reader, if you are to consecrate your life to the Lord, will He
find in you the willingness to deny yourself? Will the Lord be able to
say to you, “Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not
withheld the most precious thing in thy life from Me”? Perhaps for you,
that precious thing may be something different—it may be your career,
or your property, or your security, or even your health. Now, I am not
suggesting that He will require you to deny yourself and to say goodbye
to whatever is most precious to you in life. But what I am saying is: IF
God should one day require you to do it, will you be willing to sacrifice
it for His sake?
Let us for a moment imagine that all the things God has blessed you
with, can be placed on the palm of your hand. Here in your hand lie all
the things that are of value to you in this world: your loved ones, your
friends, your work, your future, your success, etc. And then God says to
you, “My dear child, I have given all these things to you. Will you now
let Me have them back?” Now what would your response be? Would
you hold on to them even more tightly and say, “No, Lord, I want to
keep them. Please don’t take them away from me!” Or would you offer
them willingly to the Lord with an open palm and say, “Yes, Lord. Here
they are. They are all yours to take if you wish to take them.” And then
leave it to God, either to take them, or to say, “You can keep them, my
child.”
The point being emphasised here is that true consecration holds
back nothing from the Lord. It is being willing to relinquish all if the
Lord should so require. Therefore look seriously into your heart, and be
48 A Consecrated Life