Here I am Lord

I have been working my way through the book of Genesis the past 2 and a half weeks. I have this dream to write my own Bible Study curriculum for kids. Well, I have this dream of writing some kind of book and this is what I've been led to look at. To me it is important to have a firm foundation in the Old Testament stories as well as the New Testament. I taught a Wednesday night class with first and second graders a couple of years ago and I was not crazy about what we used. I felt like it skipped all over the place and nothing built on the week before. It is the teacher in me that needs for things like this to make sense. In the past year I've had the opportunity to come up with crafts or extra activities to go along with our Children's Church materials. But now that I've been off of school for summer and have some time, I have really delved into studying the Bible and trying to look at it from the perspective of what God is teaching us in the stories of Genesis. I am trying to see what can we take away from this story and what kids could take away. I think through this God is leading me to another avenue which is the children's story during Sunday morning service. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, as I have read through Genesis I am reminded of the stories I learned as a child. Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, Abraham. I read them with different eyes as an adult as I did when I was a child.
One of the stories that has been on my mind since I read through is from Genesis 22:1-19, the Sacrifice of Isaac. God calls to Abraham and Abraham responds with "Here I am." God then asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son as a burnt offering. I can't even imagine if God asked me to sacrifice my only child. The child I have growing in my belly that I haven't even met yet is as much a part of me as my own heart. It was so hard for Chris and I to get to this point that I identify with Abraham and Sarah who waited so long for Isaac. But Abraham had faith. He took Isaac up the mountain with the fire and wood for a burnt offering. When Isaac asks where the offering was, Abraham replies with God will provide. Abraham goes through the motions of sacrificing his son and is ready to complete the act when the Angel of the Lord stops him. At that same time a ram was caught in the thicket and Abraham offered that as the sacrifice.
When God called to Abraham, Abraham replied "Here I am." He was ready and willing to do whatever God asked no matter how hard that task was. Because of Abraham's willingness, God did provide a sacrifice. It is the same in our lives. When God calls, we should answer with "Here I am." We should be willing to do whatever it is that God is asking of us. But it isn't always the case. We are overtaken with fear. Fear that we can't do what it is that God is asking. Fear that it isn't really us God is calling. Fear as to what the world would say. But if we have the faith and willingness, God will provide all we need to do what he asks.
So when God calls, What do you say? "Here I am" or do you hide? I hope to answer God with Here I am. I want to be willing and have faith. So this week, I'll talk to my pastor about doing a children's story for church. Because that is where I think God has asked me to be. This week I will say Here I am! I would love to hear about what God is asking of you.