Sacrifice

has almost disappeared from people’s understanding in our Western

culture today. Some glimpses of it can be found in war stories, as

when a soldier puts himself in harm’s way to save the lives of

others.

In

the ancient world, it was common in many religions to sacrifice an

animal for the sake of a person, and even human sacrifice was

widespread. We shudder to think of it. Archaeologists have found that

young men were buried alive in Irish peat bogs as an offering to the

people’s gods. And young maidens, in ceremonial dress, were led

high into the Andes in South America and left to starve and freeze as

an offering to the gods of the mountains.

The

worship of God was different. But one day God told Abraham to

sacrifice his only son, Isaac. This was a test to see if Abraham

really trusted God. Along the way Abraham told Isaac, “God himself

will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” And when the time

for sacrifice came, God provided a ram in place of Isaac.

This

shocking story points to the ultimate sacrifice God was planning for

the future, when he would send his only Son, Jesus, to be born as a

descendant of Abraham and to give up his own perfect life to atone

for human sin. Jesus, the Lamb of God, laid down his life for us all,

showing how deeply God loves us, so that we can have life with God

forever.