Whenever we look at the story of Cain and Abel, we often focus on the importance of the sacrifices. And they do have tremendous meaning, pointing to the promised Redeemer.

But, we have to realize that in this story, God wasn’t just upset with Cain’s sacrifice. He was upset with Cain. Conversely, it wasn’t Abel’s offering that made God happy, but it was the condition of Abel’s heart.

Notice God says about Abel, “And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering,” and about Cain, “But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.”

God isn’t just concerned with what you do—He’s concerned with who you are. Quite often we focus too much energy on the doing part of the Christian life and ignore the more vital aspect of feeding our souls.

What we accomplish for Christ can only spring from the inner energy that comes from walking daily with Him. We can try to perform on our own for a while, but soon we’ll crash and burn. We will grow discouraged and quit the race.

God is pleased by our actions and our obedience, but He is most happy when we first walk with Him in communion and then go out and serve Him. Because what we do is not nearly as important as who we are.