Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love. 
-Genesis 22:2
 
I often find myself thinking back to the years when my children were young. One particular fond memory is our morning wake-up routine. Every morning I'd go into their bedrooms, tenderly call them by name, and tell them that it was time to get up and get ready for the day.
 
When I read that Abraham got up early in the morning to obey God's command, I think of those times when I woke up my children and wonder if part of Abraham's daily routine was going to Isaac's bed to waken him-and how different it would have been on that particular morning. How heart-rending for Abraham to waken his son that morning!
 
Abraham bound his son and laid him on an altar, but then God provided an alternate sacrifice. Hundreds of years later, God would supply another sacrifice-the final sacrifice-His own Son. Think of how agonizing it must have been for God to sacrifice His Son, His only Son whom He loved! And He went through all of that because He loves you.
 
If you wonder whether you are loved by God, wonder no more.

Prayer for Today
 
Lord, I am amazed that You would love me so much that You would sacrifice Your Son for me. Teach me to live gratefully in the embrace of Your unfailing love.  Amen.