Making Sacrifices

Hello Anyone!
This post is going to be about Jesus! Just so we know what we're getting into! and....GO!

My Main Verse I'm basing on is in Genesis Chapter 4 (NLT)! The Story of Cain and Abel! Starting in verse 2

2:When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. ⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵ but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
 ⁶ “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? ⁷ You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
 ⁸ One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.”^[c] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.
 ⁹ Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”
   “I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
 ¹⁰ But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! ¹¹ Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. ¹² No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”
 ¹³ Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment^[d] is too great for me to bear! ¹⁴ You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!”

Okay, so we see right off the bat, that there is some sibling rivalry. Much like two brothers who paint pictures for their mother, and she likes one more, and one gets mad.
The difference here in the picture example is that one kid may be more gifted in art, and the other can't do any better. Let's look at the contrast in attitude between our two brothers.
Cain:
Cain was very capable of giving more than he did. He had more to give and held back. He was selfish. He thought, even if he didn't think of it that way, he treated God like he deserved more than him. Maybe he thought God wouldn't notice. God did notice, and he didn't accept Cain's offering, because he knew he was capable of more!  Maybe he just didn't care, or think it would matter that much. But it sure did matter once Abel showed up. And it didn't turn out so well for Cain.

Abel:
Now Abel knew what it was all about. My guess is that he grew up with a stronger faith and relationship with God than Cain did. He understood how much God deserves from us. So he offered God his very best. The best product of his work. He worked hard, and he made a sacrifice! And God accepted him and his offering. Abel had to be feeling pretty good at this point. He had done good work, and done well in God's sight.

Cain was so angry that God dissaproved of him and gave praise to Abel that he killed his own brother.  HIS OWN BROTHER! He just killed him cause he was mad. When he was the one who did something wrong. It wouldn't have been that hard to give his best, and he should've learned from Abel that his reward would be great if he would just try.

When God confronts Cain about killing Abel (Which he knows about already, cause he's God, duh), Cain lies, smart mouths God (Don't you talk back to me!), and essentially is the little boy who gets in trouble, knows he deserved it, but whines about his punishment. God banished Cain from crop work, which was really his only love, and from the land where he lived and he leaves him to wander the earth miserable.

it's sad what happened to Cain, but it's certainly something we can learn from.

Every single day I don't give enough to God. I never feel like I'm doing enough. Some days I don't read my bible at all. And even days that I do, I feel like I've fallen short.
My sister on the other hand, is so strong and good at being involved with God. She reads her bible all the time, and prays about everything, and I know that lately God is more accepting of her lifestyle than mine.
Now, of course I'm not going to kill my sister because of that. In fact, I'm not going to complain about it. The one thing I can do is improve my relationship with God, by making sacrfices. The next time I'm going to watch TV, I can read my bible. The next time I go to check my facebook, I can pray instead. Social Godworking certainly beats Social Networking. And if I do, my reward will be great! I will find favor with God! My life will seem more easy, and I will be happier and better at what I do.

So, to all of you as well. Think about it. Are you giving your very best and most to God?
Are you giving, but not your best as Cain did?
Are you giving anything to God at all?
Use the Cain and Abel story to your advantage, and remember it. Abel found favor for giving his utmost, and Cain was banished and left in misery.
Which of those sounds better?
A relationship with God is the best and most rewarding thing we will ever find on this Earth.
It is something to invest in.
He invested in us.
He made the biggest sacrifce he had. He gave the absolute most he could give.
He sent us his son to give us a way to him.
The least we can do is give him our love and praise and very best effort. Our time.
And he will reward us greatly.
So make a sacrifice! Make time for your relationship with God, no matter how little time you have free.
You will not regret it!

-Evan