Thursday Meditation - Here I Am

Here I Am

Genesis 22:1-14

In the society we live in today, when we are called by our name that expresses some type of strong feeling our response may be, “yea, what, huh, yep or yes ma’am/sir”.  Here in this Genesis text we see a consistency in Abraham’s discussion with God, his son and the Angel of the Lord.  We notice when Abraham was called by all three his response was always the same, “Here I Am”.

When we are called we usually do not respond immediately even if we are sitting or standing feet from each other.  In our mind we are trying to decide and figure out the vocal expression of the call.  Just like when our parents called us as children and teens we knew what to expect. When we were called by our full name including our middle name, we were either in trouble or there was something important our parents wanted us to do. Each of us has this similar story and it was the same with Abraham.

As we know Abraham spent time in God’s presence and commune with God so much that when God called his name he knew it was something God wanted him to do.  This expression is found 30 times in the Bible including the Apocrypha.  In this chapter it is said three times compared to the five times Samuel answered when he thought the Priest Eli called him 1 Samuel 3:4-16.  When God called Abraham he was not like Adam trying to hide, he just responded, Here I Am.

The second call was from his son Isaac who may have had a puzzling, perplex, inquisitive and questioning reason to call him, but Abraham’s response was still, “Here I Am”.  Isaac questioning was more to do with the sacrifice and worship without having a burnt offering with them.

The third call was from the Angel of the Lord who called him with great urgency.  The angel called him by his name twice to denote how urgent it was to get his attention.  This will be the same call a parent will do when a child may be in danger and need their attention immediately.

No matter how Abraham was called his response was still the same, “Here I Am”.  Too often we allow our reaction to the tone of voice to dictate how we will respond to someone calling our name.  So let us control our actions and use an expression that was just as consistent as Abraham.  So instead of using the typical language of the day, try responding in a respectful way and see how many people will catch on and do the same.

Prayer:  God help us to be consistent in our response when we are called by you, family, friends or an angel. Let the words be respectful and not just another slang of the day. Amen.