Can we skip this chapter?

Well, my study of Abraham has brought me to Genesis 22. I am convinced that many people who have begun reading the Bible have stopped at Genesis 22 and decided to read Psalms or stick with the New Testament. It's a tough chapter to read. Check out the second verse where God says to Abraham "take now your son, your only son Isaac and offer him there as a burnt offering". If you haven't managed to finish the chapter you need to know that Abraham doesn't sacrifice Isaac - God intervenes. However, the happy ending doesn't erase the terror of the beginning. I can't offer a nice neat explanation, because there is none that I have been able to find. However I can share some perspective about faith. Faith is not neat. It is not easily explained. Most of the time my faith in God makes sense to me - but, that doesn't mean it makes sense to others. To be honest,initiation into a life of faith in God can be terrifying. Eugene Peterson comments on the faith of Abraham as "trusting obediently in what we cannot control, living in obedient relationship to the One we cannot see, venturing obediently into a land that we know nothing about." Now then, is that nice and neat? I look forward to sharing some more about Abraham on Sunday.