Your Offering to the Lord

Genesis 4:1-7 1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

The story of Cain and Abel is a Bible "story" classic. Cain worked the ground and Abel tended sheep. We are not told how the sacrifices were determined or how often they were brought to the Lord. It would seem that Adam had taught his sons the importance of bringing an offering to the Lord. What kind of offering was the Lord expecting? Cain brought an offering from the ground. The Bible does not tell us what the offering was or how it was presented. Abel brought a firstborn from his flock. He sacrificed the life of his animal as an act of worship unto the Lord. God respected Abel for what he gave, but did not respect Cain. Cain reacted to God's displeasure by killing his brother, an act of jealousy and anger. There is an important message in this passage for us today. Think about the kinds of offerings that you give to the Lord. Most people immediately think of tithing. Do you tithe? Do you consider it a type of first fruit? But there are other ways to bring an offering to the Lord. He wants your first fruits in every thing you do. Do you give the Lord the first part of your day, time in the morning with Him? Or do you give God what is left at the end of day, before you go to sleep? Cain brought a portion of his fruit from the ground. But was it really a sacrifice on his part? You see, the Lord knows the ways in which we give to Him. He knows when we give to Him the things that mean a lot to us. He blesses us for the attitudes of our hearts not just the gift itself. It probably hurt Abel to take the life of a baby lamb, but God respected him for doing it. The book of Malachi gives some good insight into the Lord's thoughts about our offerings to Him. In chapter one, the Lord rebukes the priests who were bringing diseased and afflicted animals to be sacrificed on the altar before Him. The priests were going through their duties but had no love or honor for the Lord in their hearts. God does not want us to give to Him out of a duty or ritual. He wants our hearts to give to Him because nothing is more important in our lives than Him. Where is your heart in your giving? Is it a real sacrifice or is it a leftover or maybe just an obligation? Give it consideration. Repent and ask the Lord to change your heart. Sometimes just in repenting over something, we are
bringing an offering to the Lord by letting our hearts be softened.