This as a very difficult message for me to receive. I have asked myself many times why don’t I give the Lord the best that I have. You see, giving Him your best and giving Him the best that you have are not the same things.
Do I give Him the best of all that I am, or do I give Him the best from what I don’t mind not having? I am sad to say that too often I have been more likely to give Him the best that I want to give rather than to give Him the best of what I love the most.
And, even though I know that blessings and favor come to me when I give Him the best of who I am, I often find it difficult to give up my best for Him. I suppose I love what I have and who I am more than I love giving it to Him. Instead of giving Him the best that I have, I want Him to accept the best that I am willing to give.
I imagine I am not alone in how easy it is to be stingy towards the Lord. I have heard it said many times that we can come to the Lord just as we are because He will accept us just as we are. There is some truth in that statement, but it is also a statement that invites us to be selfish and stingy with Him.
In Hebrews 11:4 scripture says this to us: “By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.” This scripture references a time when Able offered God the first and the absolute best of all that he had, but Cain—well, he simply offered something from what he had.
The truth is that both Cain and Abel presented an offering to God. We know the offerings were different, but why were the hearts of the two brothers different? I believe the reason is that Cain was selfish and Able was selfless. Able didn’t just give his best, he raised up his best with the intent to give it up to God.
Abel’s offering was also an acceptable sacrifice. Cain’s offering wasn’t a sacrifice at all. God is more pleased when what we offer Him is a sacrifice to us. What we sacrifice of ourselves for Him is the best offering we could give.
Today I am happy to say that I try to be selflessly different in a way that my heart would always please the Lord. If you can give God better than you have given Him, do that! Your standard should be giving Him the best and all of what you love the most.
Here are some things the Lord wants to help you see and learn:
- We should never simply offer the best that we want to offer; instead, we should offer the best of what we want to keep for ourselves.
- We should be willing to sacrifice what we want for what He wants; if what we offer is not a sacrifice to us then it probably is not an acceptable offering at all.
- We should only offer to Him things of great value to us and be willing to part with them for Him.
- Offering Him much from our abundance does not make it our best; sacrificing the best from what we have is what pleases Him.
- Deciding to be the best so we can give it to Him is what makes it an acceptable offering and sacrifice.
- God is not simply looking for us to offer our things to Him; He is looking for us to sacrifice the life we want to have for the life He wants us to have.
- And finally, the best that we want to give Him is hardly ever the best that we have. God wants to get at the self in us; He wants to help us learn to become selfless rather than selfish.
Sacrificing our best for Him will live with Him always. He wants to help us learn to see the best as something we don’t have but we obtain just for Him. He wants to help us learn that He is Holy so we should come before Him in holiness. When you are offering God your best, you will learn to hold back giving Him what is convenient for you to give.
So, I urge you, that by the mercies of God, present yourselves as a living breathing sacrifice to Him, holy and acceptable to Him.
Don’t give the best that you want to give while holding back what you are unwilling to sacrifice for Him. Instead offer and sacrifice to Him the best of who you are.
Live a Delivered Life. Love you.
Live Delivered 