Gold Tried in the Fire - Robert J. Wieland

him the most tender and mature, God tested his
faith a final time with the most horrendous trial that
any mortal saint has ever had to face. He was to
offer Isaac as a burnt offering on the hill that
should later be crowned with Golgotha's cross.
Again the problem the poor man had to wrestle
with was his perception of the character of God.
Where was His love? Could Abraham believe
when everything seemed to indicate that the Lord
was a cruel ogre, as bad as the Canaanites' gods? In
the thick darkness of finite sense, could he have
faith to anticipate John's declaration that "God is
love"?
With the infirmities of old age making the test
more excruciatingly painful, Abraham went
through it firmly and loyally. He "staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief." Romans
4:20. See also Genesis 22. And thus he well earned
the right to that distinctive title by which we
sometimes refer to him—"the father of the
faithful," that is, of those who are full of faith, who
appreciate and trust God's character of love when
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