Giving all to Obtain all to Bless all

Genesis 22 has to be one of my favorite passages in the Bible, but the opening verses do strike me as odd. God tells Abraham in verse 2 to go and sacrifice his son, and without a "blip", in the next verse Abraham prepares to do it.
Was it really that easy to receive that command and then just go out and do it? I think not. I even think the text gives us clues that it was not. In verse 2 God calls Isaac "your only son..., whom you love." In verse 12 he reiterates "your only son". No, I am sure when Abraham received this command it set him reeling. This was the son for whom he waited so long. This was the son of promise. It was through him that a great nation would be formed. What was God doing asking him to sacrifice his son?
Well, God knew exactly what He was doing. Verse 1 says that he was testing Abraham. He wanted to know (or maybe he wanted Abraham to know) if Abraham held anything more dear in his life than God. He wanted to reveal the functional ruler of his heart. Would Abraham cling to his son, his only son, whom he loved, or would God have first place. Would he let go and give all to the Lord?
We know that Abraham chose well, and because he chose well, he not only got his son back, but he got more. God said he would greatly bless him and multiply his seed, and make him a blessing to all the nations of the earth (vs. 17-18). So, in giving all to the Lord, Abraham received somethng greater through which he was able to bless many. By not clinging to what was very dear, he came to possess what was most dear. He became more full and was able to share that fullness with the nations.
In Matthew 21 we see the opposite heart. We see the religious rulers clinging. They are privileged to see Jesus, and hear Him, and see His miracles, but to no effect. Instead of believing like the tax collectors and prostitutes, they rejected Christ and sought to do away with him. Why the difference?
I think the religious rulers where clinging fast to something other than God. They were clinging hard to their reputation; to the good standing they had among the people. But in clinging to this, and rejecting the One in whom all fullness dwells, they were really impoverishing themselves, and really, those around them. The tax collectors and prostitutes, on the other hand, had seen the emptiness of clinging to other things, and were ready to lay their lives before this Jesus.
In Acts 21 we see one more character. It is Paul. He is surrounded by people who are encouraging him to cling to his life. But Paul wasn't there. His words in verse 13 tell it all. He says, "For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." He wasn't even clinging to his life. Why? Because he had already given it all to the Lord, and in exchange He had received the fullness of the Lord Jesus. He gave all to obtain all in Christ. Now his life was devoted to blessing others by proclaiming that there is real life in Christ.
That's a good message for us to ponder today. Is there anything in our life that we are clinging to, that we are not letting go? Is it financial security? a relationship? a job? a reputation? Know that to cling to these things above the Lord is to lose the blessing the Lord wants to pour into us and through us to others. The choice is clear! May God help us to be wholly His today, and tomorrow, and into eternity.