Provision

"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 upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.'"

- Genesis 22:2

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

- John 3:16

When God asked Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice, what must Abraham have felt? Did he think he misunderstood what God was saying... that God must've made His first mistake... that he's been obedient up until now, but that this is asking too much?

But thanks be to God, Abraham did obey God's incomprehensible command and God did provide. And through Abraham's obedience, we have a glimpse of what our salvation cost God. For in Abraham's case, God didn't ask him to follow through with the sacrifice of Isaac, but provided instead a ram. For us, however, God did follow through. And although we are the ones who deserve to die, Christ died instead.

I first painted the piece entitled "Provision," wanting to capture the emotions of Abraham and Isaac as they went up Mount Moriah. I also wanted the ram in the painting to show that even though they weren't aware of it at that point in their journey, God had already made "Provision."

As I was working on the first piece, I felt I still couldn't adequately capture the emotion of the love between father and son. And so I tried again, in "Only Beloved Son." My intent was to not only portray Abraham and Isaac, but also God the Father and Jesus. When I think of the love between them and the sacrifice made for me, I am overwhelmed by God's love.