Abraham's Faith

God asked Abraham to go to Mount Moriah where he will realize what he needs to sacrifice for him. Immediately Abraham without a doubt in his mind knew God was asking him to sacrifice his son whom he had desired to have with his wife for so many years. But Abraham did not ask any questions or wonder why God was asking him to sacrifice the one thing he had wished for for so long and had recently just received [his son]. So Abraham goes to Mount Moriah and sets up the firewood and tied his son Isaac to it, but then see a lamb and realizes God was not asking him to sacrifice his son. From that day on Abraham could not live with the thought that he was willing to sacrifice the most dear thing to him for God when God had not even asked him to sacrifice his son. He prayed and asked for God's forgiveness without realizing that he had proven his true faith to God and that is why God had made him "the chosen one".

Kierkegaard gives three scenarios of becoming "great". He states, "no one who was great in the world will be forgotten, but each was great in his own way, and each in the proportion to the greatness of what he loved. For the one who loved himself became great by himself, and the one who loved other persons became great by his devotion, but the one who loved God became greater than everybody" (13). Kierkegaard in A Tribute to Abraham also states, "...the one who struggled with God became greater than everybody" (13) and "...the one who believed in God was greater than everybody" (13). Abraham was "greater than everybody" because he loved, struggled, and believed in God. Abraham showed his devotion to God by not questioning him. He loved God enough to be willing to sacrifice his precious son because he knew if God was taking away his son now it was because God had a greater plan for him.

Abraham believed in God. When Abraham believed that God was asking him to sacrifice his son, he did not question God, not for a moment, as to why he was asking such a thing from him. He simply had faith that if God was asking him to make such a sacrifice it was for a reason; a reason he never thought of negotiating. Having faith can be such a powerful thing that posses a human to give their all to maintain that faith. In a sense faith can be blinding because it has no measures of consequences, like in the case of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham's story reveals one who doubts his faith is one to truly not have faith. And even so Abraham "became old...his eyes darkened, he saw joy no more" (13) after having realized he almost sacrifice his son when it was not necessary. Abraham "...could not forget that God had demanded this of him" (13), so at this point one can ask, was Abraham not doubting his faith for God? It turns out that someone could have the greatest love and belief in God, but that does not even prevent us from just being human.