Abraham, Isaac, and the Altar of Fire: Did God foretell the future sacrifice...

How could a loving parent imagine the death of their only child, let alone by their own hands?  As a youth, the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac was a troubling one for the author of this modern day version.  Why would God make such a strange and terrifying demand, unless he was trying to prepare his people for the coming of his own son?  It wasn’t until he was a renewed Christian at age 53 that the author was blessed to write this story, which may help explain how these Biblical events could have happened.  Told through the eyes of Isaac and his young friends, it is a seldom seen glimpse into a Biblical world which eventually explains all the mysteries of life.
                More importantly, the author now knows that God sacrificed his one and only son so all of us could become his children.  Thank you God for making the ultimate sacrifice for us.