Every now and then, we offer help to someone at work, in the neighborhood, at Church or wherever possible. We do it knowingly and unknowingly too, at times. It could be a word of comfort, a little favor or even a gesture that shows we care. Though I don't mean to say, we should help with an expectation of getting something in return, it really feels nice to be receiving a note of "Thank You" no matter how small the favor really was.
Let alone a note of ‘Thank You’, how about receiving a cute little card, may be flowers or some very nice gift as a token of gratitude for the petty help we offered? I want to emphasize that it would be incredible to actually know, that little deed or that tiny gesture of care, was the real need of the hour to that someone on the receiving end.
If demonstration of gratitude can bring such a great sense of delight to someone earthly like us, I’m sure it surely does to God, the one who cares for every detail of our lives, guides us through the tough challenges of life and above all the only one who is always the first to love us. He holds the complete authority to be worshipped with our offerings for his free gift of grace and mercies that help us thrive each second. God is however, never demanding and yet mindful of the ‘quality’ of our offerings, no matter how small.
From the scriptures, it is understood that Cain and Abel both worshipped the Lord. They wouldn't have brought offerings if they were not thankful to God in the first place. However, there was a remarkable difference in the ‘quality’ of the gifts they each had to offer. Abel diligently offered the 'fat from the firstborn of his flock'. Ever since I was a child and until today, I have collections of all the first things I owned and a record of the first experiences, the first things that happened in my life etc...They come very special to me and I find it very hard to let go. All of us have that 'special' love for the 'first' things, let alone the 'first born'. Abel's gratitude for the Lord was far more measurable than his difficulty in letting go the first born of his flock. His ability to offer whole-heartedly came from the magnitude of his thankfulness for the blessings he received from the Lord, both spiritual and material. He exercised care in worshipping his master and chose the best from what he could offer; to him it was more than a duty, unlike it was to Cain.
We also see that the Lord showed ‘favor’ to Abel. He got favor from God not because of the offering but because the Lord delighted in the immeasurable gratitude that urged Abel to give the 'Best' offering. Luke 21: 2-4 quotes, the small coins offered by the poor widow, who gave away everything she had not holding back even a single coin! We need to remind ourselves that 'best' counts from what we have and not from what can be offered.
God is always the provider and is never in want of anything whatsoever. He is mindful of what we offer him in the tangible, an obvious reflection of the intangible. And I believe, God has preferences. He prefers the ‘quality’ of our offerings! He wouldn't be pleased to accept an offering by duty; namesake worship would certainly be one of his profound dislikes.
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