March 4th ps. 116, I Will Walk Before the Lord

When Abraham was first walking to Moriah what a slow walk it must have been.  Knowing that what you are about to do will please God is difficult when it involves loss or sacrifice of your own.  Of course at Moriah God gave Abraham another option.  The option God gave him would both bless him and his family without the pain that would have come from sacrificing his own child.  As Abraham walked away from that place, I’m guessing his feet were pretty light.  It would have been difficult for his son to keep up with him.  Getting home, I’m sure he was a different father than before as well.  Reborn, he loved God with all his heart because of God’s mercy.  Of course we experienced the same mercy when Jesus was on the cross for us.  God could have required us to make the sacrifice personally but instead he supplied his own Son.  Afterwards the question is do we simply say thanks and walk away or do we choose to follow the path Jesus himself laid out for us?  "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." When we join Jesus as his body on earth we not only listen to him but we act upon his word.  That is the essence of what faith is.  Abraham had true faith and was willing to sacrifice.  He then walked away and built God's kingdom.  Even Jesus called him "Father Abraham".   Now it is up to us to join in this sacrifice which was already made for us.  The next time you see a non-believer, remember what Jesus did for you and by your actions help him understand as well.  Wherever you go and whomever you meet, rejoice and walk with the feet of Abraham!

God Bless, Perry

Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.