Moving On

Sooo... I was tired when writing this. Be forgiving :).

I've frequently been considering the subject of 'moving on.' You know, the comment of one girl to another girl who's crying over her broken relationship, the misunderstanding remark made to another who still hasn't gotten over her brother's suicide, or even something overheard in a sunday school lesson directed toward someone who just can't grasp a concept.

What's the big deal about moving on? Is it truly necessary? What is the function of intentionally driving one's heart past it's piques of joys and valley's of peace? How in the world do we 'move on'?

I learned something interesting by reading Genesis 22 (Abraham sacrificing Isaac) in Hebrew. It was a while ago (and instead of memorizing all the words in Hebrew, I would memorize biblical chapters word for word in English, enabling a decent translation-ha ha), but nonetheless, it frequently comes to mind. This consideration helps alleviate my feckless internal debate concerning moving forward at the expense of the memories and tantalizing experiences of the past.

Agreeance

The story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac has a multiplicity of factions, but I'd like to focus on agreeance rather than submission. We tout how wonderful that Abraham submitted to the Lord's will by being enacting the sacrifice Isaac, and how equally marvelous Isaac's submission to Abraham's sacrificial knife. Both submissive acts are indeed celestial, and distend thoughts toward God, which is always appropriate. However, consider the proliferate strength necessary to agree with God's will in addition to submitting to His will.

For example, I see a submissive act of Abraham's as arising early, preparing wood for the burnt offering, and embarking on the three day journey. Abraham's acts of agreeance are scattered throughout the story, but the strongest illustration is disembowelment of the phrase, "and they went both of them together (Genesis 22:6). This describes the manner in which Abraham and Isaac approached Mt. Moriah. Time-honored Jewish tradition (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong) as well as my personal biblical study suggests that walking together is a symbol of, or metaphor for, understanding. In other words, the act of Abraham and Isaac walking together implies that they understood and accepted what would soon take place. I'm of the opinion that Isaac knew before scaling Moriah that he would be sacrificed by his very own father. How else could a (teenage) boy acquiesce that the Lord would provide a sacrificial lamb, and lay his youthful body on a stone altar. Isaac didn't just submit his body to a bloody finish, his spirit had come to terms and agreeance with such a sacrifice.

(I suggest you re-read Genesis 22 for other such indicators of agreeance)

How does this play into 'moving on'? The key for me is in the dissection of the difference between submitting and agreeing. Submittal is not agreeance anymore than running means we're competing in a race. If we submit ourselves to God's will, we accept his plan for us. If we agree with God's will, we've utilized the Atonement. We've questioned our God-willed personalized commands, submitted ourselves to the necessary acts of faith, changed our hearts in such a way as to cast out ALL doubt and thus align our personal will with God's will. Agreeance could mean that if God removed his command from us, after seeing out weakness, we would still go through with the action.

If God's heart broke under Abraham's sorrow (which I'm sure it did), and He revoked his original sacrificial command, what would Abraham do? If Abraham agreed (aka- understood, accepted through purification and change) with doing what the Lord commanded, he would not back down. He would walk up Moriah, stumbling on loose pebbles and creeping across over-sized boulders, he would scale at all personal strength, Moriah, and build a sacrificial altar. He would proclaim, nay, scream, "God, I'm here. You've commanded me. See my faith. Watch my trust. Know my love for thee. HERE AM I! Take my agreeance, and accept my sacrifice." He would try God just as God tempted him. He would have faith. He would demand the promised blessings, because he knew that God would never back out on his word, nor deny his prophecies.

So, we move on by agreeing with God. We try the Lord for all we're worth, and we'll always come out victor. We can let go of hurt, fear, distress, misteachings, and even, yes, I dare say it, LOVE , if we can agree with God.

Doing such a tremulous thing as moving on may be one's personal Abrahamic challenge (Doctrine and Covenants 132). Now, the task is to figure such a thing as truly agreeing with God!

Photo courtesy of an interesting blog.