Contrast of Obedience and Disobedience

In Genesis today we have the story of Isaac's birth and the sacrifice God asked Abraham to make. Abraham's faith here is incredible. He knew God had promised that he would have lots of descendants. He also knew that the line was to come through Isaac. He knew that if he obeyed God would make a way for it all to work out. He was willing to trust God and just simply obey. That is all he was commanded to do. He did it immediately with no hesitation and no questions asked. He had so much faith that when he told his servants that he and Isaac were going up to offer sacrifices he told them that they both would return, even though he knew God had asked him to kill Isaac. He had that much faith. His obedience here is astounding. He had the knife in his hand and his son bound on the altar. His arm was in the air and ready to obey when God stopped him. Can you imagine the relief and sheer joy from Abraham and Isaac both? The obedience and trust of Isaac here amazes me to. What an amazing picture of obedience and faith.
In Acts today we have a picture of the direct opposite, disobedience and lies. The story here is of Ananias and Sapphira. They both willingly made a decision to lie before God for monetary gain. The punishment for their disobedience is instant death. What a contrast between Abraham and the couple in this passage. God never even called them to give the whole portion. They could have told the truth and still donated some and kept the rest. It was a matter of pride. They wanted to look good in front of everybody. They wanted to have everyone admire them and see how much they had given. The picture of what our sin does to us is awesome here.
Which example to do tend to fall into? I find myself worrying a whole lot about what people think of me. I don't want anyone to find out the angry woman I can be sometimes. I do not want them to get a glimpse into the thoughts of my mind. I sin, just like everyone else. I have been in situation before where to keep my sin from being found out I have done some fancy footwork. I want to live a life of faith this year and every year. That means that I need to confess that sin and put things in place to resist the temptations that arise in my life. I need to fill my mind with things of God. I need to clear out the old, and replace it with things that honor God and bring glory to his name. I want to be like Abraham in that whatever The Lord ask me do to that I will instantly do it, knowing that he is in control. I want to worry less about what the people around me think and concentrate on just pleasing God and honoring him.

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