Animal, Vegetable, Or Me?

"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Able, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is the countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." - Genesis 4:3-7

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." - Romans 12:1

As I read that passage in Genesis this morning my thoughts dwelt on Cain's attitude, both before and after his offering. There's a lot that gets said about why Abel's sacrifice was accepted and Cain's wasn't (though Hebrews 11:4 seems to explain it sufficiently) and how this whole drama plays out. What was impressed upon me this morning, however, was that once again I was missing the point. I don't think it matters what kind of vegetables (or "fruits of the ground") Cain sacrificed to God if he wasn't willing to put himself up there too. It was a moment of conviction to be sure, because I like to give things to God when I should be giving Him me instead.

It's so easy to forget, or ignore, that living a life in Christ actually starts with death. We have to die to self and to the world and its passions. When Jesus took up His cross He intended to die on it, so when we take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23) what else should we be expecting to do? He doesn't want our sheep or our vegetables, He wants us. I can always find more things to give up, to sacrifice to God, but there's only one Will Hunter and I really hate to let him go sometimes. Maybe I'll even give God a part of Will Hunter, like my words or my emotions or something - but just not the whole Will. I like Will after all, he's a cool guy. But God wanted him first I think, and so he has to go. Will Hunter just has to get over it and crawl right up there and say "Okay Lord, here I am. Burn me up!"

And He does. And it hurts. What else should we expect from One who baptizes with fire, and sets mountains ablaze, and has flames for eyes? Ah, but He's not like a forest fire or burning barn you see, rather He's like a metalworker at a forge: He takes that Will Hunter and heats him up until he's red-hot and shapes him into something He can use. Our God does not eat vegetables or sheep friends, He forges weapons with which He advances His Kingdom.

And that's really awesome.

~~JBH