Lives of sacrifice matter most

22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
To be sure, every human life matters. That is something clear in scripture. God has made mankind the crown of his creation, and every person, no matter how flawed, is precious and of great value in His sight. But for us, the greatest lives are those who live a life of sacrifice. Abraham, the father of faith, was a man of great sacrifice.  Sure, he had lots of herds and flocks and land and servants, but he had one shot at his greatest dream: his son.  So when God said, take him and offer him up, it was a call to give the greatest sacrifice.  When we talk about this passage, we do not talk about Isaac as the one who was sacrificed. His life would not have paid any price to make a great difference in the world. But we do talk about Abraham's sacrifice - laying it all on the line, for obedience to God, to develop his faith and all those who would follow after Him.  What kind of sacrifice are we making today - that will impact our family and generations of others to follow?  May we respond in faith and obedience today to whatever that call may be.