Sunday Devotion-What God Wants

Janet Rubin

He drew his arm back. Rage tore through his muscles, propelling his fist forward with violent force. A frustrated growl erupted from his mouth as he released the piece of fruit clutched in his hand. He hurled it, sending it arcing over the earth until it descended, exploding on impact. The red skin of the fruit burst, bloody-looking pulp sprayed through the air.

He grabbed another from the basket and sent it flying to the same fate. Then another, and another. Screams of fury accompanied his throws. Nearly blinded by his angry tears, he continued until every piece of fruit in the basket lay in a useless, broken mess against the rocks. His very best—wasted. With a final burst of anger he kicked the empty basket, sending it bouncing down the stony hill, then stood, chest heaving, hands shaking.

In the distance sheep bleated. His hands clenched into fists as he scanned the wooly valley below, finding the figure of the one he so despised. His brother’s silhouette shone dark against the setting sun. The favored one. Accepted by God. Bitterness swelled and tightened his throat. It wasn’t fair. Why were Abel’s dead animals better than Cain’s first fruits? He’d tilled the landed, planted, watered, weeded…

"You didn’t bring what I asked, Cain," a gentle voice whispered.

He’d brought his best, but it wasn’t good enough. Through narrowed eyes he watched Abel moving through the flock, bending now and then to touch the heads of the animals, probably feeling superior…laughing at him. All at once, Cain knew what he would do. Abel would pay…

Last night in bible study, we read the account of Cain and Abel. Both brothers brought sacrifices. Abel’s was acceptable to God. Cain’s was not. Cain became angry, his face downcast, and despite God’s warnings that sin crouched at his door, he went on to murder his brother.

Why was Cain so angry? And why didn’t God accept his offering? Obviously, in Cain’s eyes, his offering was good, and he thought God should have been thankful. But, either because he was not obedient in making the offering God required, or because his heart’s motivation was not right, God did not accept the offering.

I wonder how often my offerings are more like Cain’s than Abel’s. So often we give God what we want to give Him, as opposed to giving what He asks, and in our arrogance we think He ought to be happy that we gave Him anything at all. Of course—and thank God—we are living in New Testament times; Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice. We don’t need to offer blood sacrifice to atone for our sins. So what does God ask of us now?

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

According to this verse, we are the sacrifice. We are. How easy it is to get consumed with our writing, telling those around we are writing for God. We say we are telling stories for His glory. Using our gift and doing our best for Him. It sounds good. And the writing might be excellent, even award-winning. Yet God cares more about the giver than the gift. If you become a New York Times best-selling author, the entire world may want your stories… but God will still want you. He doesn’t love you because you can tell a story. He loves you because you are his child. He wants time with you, a relationship. He wants to be involved in your writing, to be your inspiration, your encourager, your guide. Offer yourself up to Him today?

Lord, if we could just give you whatever we felt like giving, then it wouldn’t be a sacrifice. Help us to give you our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our hopes, plans, and dreams. We want to be pleasing and acceptable to you. Amen.