For his completion, Abraham also needed Isaac's enjoyment of the inheritance (24:36; 25:5). From the day Abraham was called by God, God began to rob him of things. Firstly, God took away his brother and then his father. Later, God rejected Eliezer, commanded Abraham to cast out Ishmael, and told him to offer Isaac on the altar. After Isaac had been returned, Sarah died. Abraham's life was not a life of enjoyment; it was a life of being robbed. Isaac's life, on the contrary, was a life full of enjoyment. Isaac did not do anything; he simply inherited all his father had.
In our Christian life we have the experiences of both Abraham and Isaac. On one hand we are always being robbed. God rejects whatever we have. He seems to say, "You like it, but I don't like it. You want to give it, but I won't take it. You want to preserve it, but I reject it." In a very good sense, God always acts contrary to our wishes and intentions. Abraham wanted to take his father with him, but the father was taken away. He wanted to have Lot, but Lot separated from him. He wanted Eliezer to be his heir, but Eliezer was rejected. He wanted to keep Ishmael, but God commanded him to cast out the son of the bondwoman. Abraham loved his son Isaac, but God required that he be offered to Him upon the altar. A while later, Sarah, Abraham's dear wife, was taken. I doubt that Abraham had much time for enjoyment.
But there is another side to our Christian life. While we are suffering the robbing, we are enjoying our inheritance. This is why the records of Abraham and Isaac overlap, whereas the records of those who preceded them, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah, do not. The record of Isaac is mixed together with that of Abraham. While Abraham was suffering, Isaac was enjoying. While Abraham was weeping, Isaac was rejoicing. This indicates that our Christian life is a life of night and morning. Night is at our left hand and morning is at our right hand. In the Christian life, night and morning go together. Many times I have been unable to determine whether I was in the night or in the morning. While I was in the morning I was in the night, and while I was in the night, I was in the morning. On the one hand, I was Abraham being robbed of everything, and on the other hand, I was Isaac enjoying the inheritance.
We all have been selected with Jacob and have been called and have believed with Abraham. As we have been robbed with Abraham and have been enjoying with Isaac, one day we all shall be matured with Jacob. We should not say that a certain brother is a Jacob or Abraham or Isaac. We should call him a Jacob-Abraham-Isaac. He is Jacob at the beginning and at the ending, and he is Abraham with Isaac in the middle. These three are one complete person. As we have seen, the maturity in life is neither with Abraham nor Isaac but with Jacob.
The sign of the maturity of life is blessing. I have seen thousands of Christians. Nearly every one has been either supplanting or complaining. Some saints complain about the elders, the brothers, and all the churches. It seems that the only church they like is the New Jerusalem. Complaining is a sign of immaturity. When you have matured, you will not complain; you will bless, saying, "O God, bless all the brothers and all the churches." For the one who is matured in life, the supplanting hand has become the blessing hand. The more mature you are, the more you will bless others. You will not only bless the good ones, but the bad ones and even the worst ones.
Abraham's life was wonderful and has been appreciated by Christians throughout the centuries. But, as we have seen, he was not mature in the divine life. Our God is not only God the Father, but also God the Son and God the Spirit. He is not only the God of Abraham, but also the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. May we all see that we need all three aspects, the life of Abraham plus the lives of Isaac and Jacob. The Triune God is working within us as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to make us the full expression of Himself. He is the Triune God, and we must be a person of three aspects in the spiritual experiences of the divine life. We need to be transformed in full. When we have been fully transformed, God will have the fulfillment of His purpose.