It was Julie’s birthday and Meanie had been shopping for months for the perfect gift to give to her friend. Finally, Julie’s big day was here and Melanie could finally give her the gift she had been working on for months.
Chris had forgotten about Julie’s birthday so he ran out to the store and picked up the first thing he found and gave it to Julie. Needless to say that since Julie knew Chris didn’t put much thought into his gift, his didn’t mean as much as Melanie’s did.
You might ask why is that the case? They both still got her something, right? Well, Melanie had a desire to make her friend happy. She wanted her friend to be pleased by the gift she had for her, therefore she gave from her heart. Chris on the other hand gave with his head.
God always sees the heart of the matter when it comes to any situation. At the end of the day, if what you have isn’t as good as what everyone else has, but your heart is on pleasing God with your best, God knows that. God sees your heart’s desire to give Him more, and that’s what He honors.
Genesis 4:3-7 (NLT) 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 portions 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.”