Where Will You Go Next?

The true test of all Christians is how closely they resemble the Savior.   As we align ourselves along various scales...faith, forgiveness, confidence in the Father, indifference to what we have or don't have, love, purity, disregard for acclaim, loyalty to the Kingdom of God, honesty, unhurried devotion to prayer, patience, gratitude, we find a different sort of life coming into place.  It is impossible to be a "good Christian" without the supernatural working of Christ in us.  We are a hopeless tangle of lusts, frustrations, lies, mismanaged emotions, fears and self-absorbed loyalties.  Nothing we do can make us fit with Christianity...not with real Christianity.   Spiritually, we are like a dieter who cannot break free of too many calories.  The world can only look at the symptoms of unprocessed Christianity: road rage, drug abuse, depression, anxiety, materialism, greed and cheating spouses.  The one who is born-again sees something much more personal; the absence of Christ in daily living.  With Christ a part of us, not just as a role model but a living, interconnected part of our new personality, we can become perfect as He is perfect.  Each day is day one of Christ coming out of us in a new way; His love joined to our affections, His faith brought into our stresses, His holiness pouring into our desires.  Christ crucified does away with our Sin.  Christ resurrected breaks apart the bondage Sin has had over us and gives us the habits and behavior patterns of God Himself in the day we have before us.  What did Paul mean by, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me "?  (Galatians 2:20 NIV)Was it some quasi-spiritual gibberish or is he saying that Jesus Christ really does live in us?  Is He as He really is a part of us, living through all the decisions and behaviors of our personality?  If so, then we have real hope to be good and righteous and full of the peace and joy of God Himself.

But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:  ( Romans 10: 6-8 NIV)

A Tale Of Two Minkahs Continued

First let us consider why God didn’t approve of Cain and his minkah. Abel’s minkah is described as the first born of his flock. The first born in other parts of scripture is called the Lord’s. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal (Exodus 13:2 NIV) It is the sign of God’s provision and provided hope for His ongoing care. The firstborn was what the rancher depended on to reassure him that his ewe or cow would keep his flock going. Even if no others were born by the mother, at least the one was there. To give that lamb or calf away was a show of faith that God would eventually replace the firstborn. Firstfruits followed the same principle. The first of the harvest was the most precious. It was what you could count on to feed your family. It was there. Who could say what might happen with the later part of the harvest? Plagues might wipe it out or locusts might shred it. The weather could turn hot and whither the crops. To give away your firstfruits was giving away your security. Yet it was the firstfruits God wanted. Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. Ex 34:26 It took faith to bring the firstfruits to God and only a believer could muscle up the gumption to do it. "We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the LORD each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree. Nehemiah 10:35 NIV

Not only did Abel bring the firstborn, he also presented the fat of His firstborn. The Fat was the choicest part, the richest of it. When Pharaoh promised Joseph that his family would be able to enjoy the best part of the land of Egypt, he referred to it as the “fat of the land”, the exact same Hebrew word used to describe what Abel brought God. (See Genesis 45: 18) Again, the same word is used to describe the finest olive oil and finest wine of the harvest that God would give Aaron and his descendants. It was the “fat” or the olive oil and the “fat” of the wine his family would get. Now we don’t think so much of fat anymore because of our concern with calories and cholesterol and clogged arteries but the “fat” was the best, the finest you had. The offering of Abel was the most glorious he could offer; it was the fat.

Now turn back to Cain and his minkah. He gave some fruit he had. It was not the fat of the fruit. It was not the firstfruits. It was just something he had lying around his house. Ponder this. The ground had not been stained very deeply by sin yet and the world still was a relative paradise and it must not have been too difficult to find some sort of wheat or grape or apple to offer up to God. The implication is that Cain’s offering required nothing much of faith, nothing much of deliberation, (trying hard to choose the very best he had), nothing much of pleasure in the giving. His minkah was the plainness of obligatory religion. There are times when my children do their chores with all the enthusiasm of a corpse. There is no sense of rightness to it, no sense of pleasure in doing your best, no sense of giving a gift back to those who love you most in the world. It is pure drudgery and when the work is yanked out of them, it feels like a fingernail dragged across a chalk board rather than any sort of minkah. And yes, I am that same way. My minkahs can be just as thoughtlessly offered, just as carelessly given, just as free of affection as seemingly possible for one who is lifeless dust without Jesus.

We now must return to the original question. What separated Cain from Abel? Certainly is was the quality of their minkahs. One minkah was full of faith and extravagant pleasure in giving to a beloved God. The other minkah was an afterthought, a hand me down, a toss away gift. Several years ago a rather wealthy woman gave my family a used pot as a gift. It hadn’t even been washed. Now from someone who was impoverished, it would have been a most lovely thing to receive but from someone well off, it had the feel of flippancy.

A Tale Of Two Minkahs Concludes Tomorrow