Experiencing God

The story of Abraham taking his promised son Isaac up on the mountain to sacrifice him is one that has been taught in Sunday School classes since Sunday School classes had their beginnings. My education of the event came complete with flannel-graph depictions of the old guy putting his teenage son on an altar made of stone. Just at the right time (and before any of the kids in class had a heart attack thinking their parents might take similar action) the teacher produced the image of a ram caught in a bush — God’s provision of the “real” sacrifice. Except that wasn’t the real one at all.

God t...