Idolatry of a first child

I think that there is a very real danger of having an idolatrous relationship with a child. Perhaps no one experienced greater temptation in this regard than Abraham. At the age of 100, God gave him a son, the promised heir through whom all the nations were to be blessed. If there was ever a family in which a child was in danger of occupying undue focus, it was this family. This was the circumstance in which (perhaps) the most extraordinary demand in all of Scripture was spoken:

"Take your son, you 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" (Gen 22:2).

Because Abraham obeyed, not withholding his only beloved son (22:16-18), the promise was confirmed. The way of retaining his son, and the blessing, was to submit to God as ABSOLUTELY sovereign.

I think that there is much here to learn, particularly for parents (like me) with only one child. We can easily damage our children by placing hope in them that is unwise. We can very easily idolize them and refuse to leave them in the hand of God because they are precious to us (forgetting, of course, that our Father is far more loving and powerful than we are).

If we (particularly those of us who have only one so far) love our children, we must pursue two paths:

1. We must consistently and deliberately entrust our children to God rather than trying to shield them from His hand.
2. We must live for a purpose outside of our family - the blessing of the nations.

These were the two hard paths that Abraham walked; and they were the means by which he received the promise.