Abel – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

Why is faith so important?

Because for whatever reason, it is the one thing that God desires from all of us as his creatures.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that it is for their faith that God commended all that came before us. (Hebrews 11:2)

More, it is our faith and that faith alone that will commend us before God even now. For from that faith, everything else springs: the love we have for him, the worship we offer him, and the obedience and loyalty that we have for him.

Think about it. If we do not believe that he exists, that he loves us, and that he is looking out for our best, will we love him? Will we worship him. Will we be loyal to him and obey him?

Fear may take care of the latter three, but God does not want us to worship him, be loyal to him, and obey him out of fear. Rather, he wants us to do these things out of our love for him.

And for this reason, the writer of Hebrews tells us,

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Think about Cain for a moment. Why was his sacrifice rejected?

We don’t know all the details, but from what the writer of Hebrews tells us, it ultimately came down to the fact that his offering did not come from his faith in God.

Perhaps he gave his offering grudgingly, muttering in his heart, “Why do I have to give this to God?”

Perhaps God had required an animal sacrifice, and Cain thought, “Why aren’t the things I grow as a farmer enough? I’ll just give what I want to give.”

But whatever the reason, Cain failed to show faith in God. And because of that, God rejected his offering.

Abel, on the other hand, offered his sacrifice by faith. And because of his faith, he loved God, was loyal to him, and obeyed him. So when God saw his sacrifice, he gladly accepted it.

Think about Enoch. He was one of two people that never tasted death. (Elijah was another). God simply took him to be with him.

Why? Because “he walked with God.”

When the Old Testament was translated into Greek, they translated “walked with God,” as “pleased God.”

In short, to please God, you need to walk in close relationship with God.

But you cannot walk in close relationship with God if you don’t believe he exists, believe that he loves you, and believe that he’s looking out for your best. It is simply impossible.

How about you? Do you want to live a life pleasing to God? Do you want to have his commendation in your life?

Then ask yourself: Do I truly believe he exists? Do I really believe he loves me? Do I truly believe he is looking out for my best?

Until you can answer yes to all three questions, you’ll never be able to truly please him.

Where is your heart today?

By faith

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:20)

It’s nice to see in this passage that there was reconciliation between Adam and Eve after the fall.

I kind of wonder, however, when Adam actually gave her the name Eve? Did he just call her “woman” all this time?

Still, I love the name he gave her. Eve literally means “Living.”

I get the impression from the passage that Adam gave her that name when God promised to bring a Savior through her seed. And when Adam heard that, he named his wife Eve, saying “Through you comes life.”

Is there a more beautiful name he could’ve given her?

Anyway, I digress. As I read the story of Cain and Abel, the obvious question pops up. Why did God accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s?

Some people think it’s because it was a sin offering and therefore had to be a blood offering. Others think it’s because Cain didn’t offer his firstfruits.

What we do know for certain is what the author of Hebrews wrote:

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.

And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. Hebrews 11:4 (NIV)

Whatever the exact reason was, it’s clear that Abel offered his sacrifice in faith. Cain did not.

Maybe for Cain, it became just a habit. Maybe he couldn’t see the point of giving his best to God. Maybe he just couldn’t see why the sacrifices had to be a blood offering.

But whatever his reasons, his attitude did not please God.

I have to wonder sometimes how often I make unacceptable offerings to God.

I must admit that sometimes I’ve seen tithes as a kind of a tax. One of those unpleasant things that is very painful to do, but I kind of have to do.

Yet that’s not really giving by faith, is it?

The apostle Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:7,

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Too often I’m not giving cheerfully, but reluctantly. I still struggle with that sometimes…actually to be honest, I struggle with it often.

At a time when it’s hard to save any money, it’s easy to look back and count all the money I’ve given to the church.

So the question is, “Why am I giving? Is it because I have to? Or because I want to?”

I sometimes also wonder how often I offer prayers unacceptable to God. Sometimes when I’m praying over the food, I find myself just saying words.

Or when we’re praying in church, I find my mind starting to wander. I can’t say that I’m praying by faith in those situations either.

God forgive me. Help me to never have the attitude of Cain which takes you lightly. Which despises you. Which makes prayer a dead ritual. Which makes giving tithes a tax that’s painful to give.

Instead let me have the heart of Abel, who gave every offering out of a heart of faith and who did everything out of his love for you.