“And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” Genesis 4:4-5
Cain and Abel both made offerings to God. Abel’s offering was accepted by God because He was willing to give the very best and hold nothing back. Abel wanted to please God from the depth of his heart.
Cain did not give the best offering. He held back the best for himself. Cain was living for self. He did not fear the Lord.
When Cain found out God had rejected his offering he became angry and jealous of his brother. He allowed these feelings to intensify and God warned Cain to do the right thing and he would be accepted by God.
God told Cain that sin was growing in his heart and it desires to overtake him but he had to do the godly thing and release these feelings to God and ask for forgiveness.
Cain did not heed the warning from God and murdered his brother. Cain opened the door to Satan with his feelings over his brother. This led to his downfall. Cain did not respect God and paid dearly for his actions.
God looks at the heart. In this example, Abel had a heart for God and was willing to give God the very best of everything in his life. Abel loved God and operated with pure motives. He was holding nothing back from God.
God wants you to offer all of yourself to Him. This literally means you give up the right to your life and you give God the right to use you for His purposes. This is the definition of abandonment to God. You agree to live for God and not for self.
If you follow the pattern of Cain, you will never really come to know God and you will be on a path leading to destruction and death.
Cain “compromised” his relationship with God. He did not give full value of himself to God. He asked God to settle for less. This is why He was rejected by God!
The bottom line is the condition of your heart! Have you given all to God or are you keeping some back for yourself?
Hal Hollister Ministry 