The example of God's call for Abraham to lay his promised son on the altar is an example for us to follow. "This child Isaac had become for Isaac his delight and even the idol of his heart. He was an eager love slave of his son. This baby represented everything sacred to his father's heart: the promises of God, the covenants, the hopes of the years and the long messianic dream. As he watched him grow from babyhood to young manhood, the heart of the old man was knit closer and closer with the life of his son, till at last the relationship borded upon the perilous. It was then that God stepped in to save both father and son from the consequences of an uncleansed love..." As God forbade Abraham from laying a hand on his precious son on the altar, God was basically saying this: "I never intended that you should actually slay the lad. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there. I wanted to correct the perversion that existed in your love. Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me."

Often we see material and wordly things and status as the obvious idols in our lives. God is clearly showing us that even good and godly things have become idols, for He does not reign in our hearts unchallenged. Our spouses, children, ministry, people, visions, missions, even our faithful and joyful service to the Lord have become perverted idols for they often take precedence in our hearts before God Himself. We pray that we would fear the Lord and have Him as our very first and all in our hearts. Intimate friendship with God is our goal. When we meet God face to face, all other things will be stripped away from us, except our relationship with Him. Isn't this then the most valuable thing to invest our lives in? Here's a little excerpt from AW Tozer's "Pursuit of God": the blessedness of possessing nothing.