If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.

Genesis 4:7 (ESV)

This verse is a direct quote from God to Cain, Adam, and Eve’s firstborn son. The context of this conversation is that he and his brother, Abel, brought their respective sacrifices to the Lord, the first recorded instance of an offering to God.

In the story, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of fruit, while Abel brought the firstborn of his flock of sheep. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. As a result, Cain was angry, so the Lord spoke to him, explaining why he did not accept his offering.

Here’s the biggest difference between Cain’s offering and Abel’s: Cain brought some of his goods to God, while Abel brought his best before the Lord. The story shows that God wants the best from us and he later explained to Cain that he also wants the best for him. He tells us that our hard work should be diligent and honorable, rather than doing something with laziness or having low motivations.

God wants the best of our talent and resources. Today, we don’t have that same connection to God where we bring him physical gifts or sacrifices and he speaks directly to us to let us know he accepts it. Instead, we offer our highest value: time. We can spend time in his Word, or in prayer or by using our time to help others in need.

We can use our gifts to serve him and serve others. God wants us to be the best we can be. By dying on the cross and rising from the grave, he gave us what we need to overcome our own personal weaknesses. He gave us his life so that we might accept it, form a personal relationship with him and receive eternal salvation.

God gave us the best he had in Jesus Christ, a perfect, unblemished sacrifice. In return, we must offer ourselves to him each and every day. Reflect on your life and see where you need to give your best to God. Accept God’s grace to become the best possible version of yourself. 

This week, pray about the kind of things you want to offer to God. Give the best of your time to him and honor him through your personal walk.