Faith Surrenders

This week, we meet two brothers who bring offerings to God. However, God only accepts one of the offerings and rejects the other. Consumed by jealousy and rage after his offering was rejected, Cain commits the first murder in the Bible by killing his brother Abel. One might wonder why God did not accept Cain's offering and what made Abel's offering more desirable. The answer is found in Hebrews 11:4, which states, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts; and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” Abel had a heart of humility, one full of faith in the one true God, and was willing to surrender everything to Him, while Cain relied on himself rather than God. This week, we learn that God sees our hearts and desires for us to surrender everything to Him in faith. When we do this, not only does our faith strengthen, but it leaves a lasting testimony to those around us.