Rav Hutner, in Maamarei Sukkot, wonders why the description of what Avraham did at the akedah is in the form of a "shev v'al taaseh" - "lo chaschta bincha," you did not hold back your son from me.
This sounds like he allowed someone else to take his son, but not that he did it himself. Why not place it in Avraham's active involvement? He goes on to build a maamar out of this. I can take it in a different direction.
The ultimate description, indeed the divine description, is not on Avraham actually taking his son to be sacrificed. The description of lo chasachta actually tells us that Avraham knew that he would not have to sacrifice Yitzchak. Everything in his being told him so, not only morally (as he was someone with great moral character, helping strangers be at home in his house), or from the perspective of justice (hashofet kol haaretz lo yaaseh mishpat), but indeed he knew God, had a relationship with Him, and was aware it would be impossible to ask this of him. Rather, he took his son on a seemingly pointless hike, because he knew something would be the point of this. This is why he is so able to go with the flow when he sees the ram. How did he know this was meant to be the replacement? Indeed, why did he listen when the angel of God told him to stop? It was because he was prepared all along for this eventuality. And thats why God describes it as, you did not withhold your son from me. Not that you were actively willing to sacrifice your son, but that you came here anyway despite the knowledge that there would be no human sacrifice today on this mountain. You didn't hold back from doing so.
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