but did you do your best?

The game ends and unfortunately the child is on the losing team. He walks up with a saddened face to parents who are ready to console. The mom leans in close to him, raising his chin to ensure that there is eye contact. As she looks into the tear-filled eyes of her son, she says, “I know it hurts to lose, but I need to know….did you do your best?” The son looks up and slowly nods his head up and down. The mom then leans in with a hug and says, “Well, that is all anyone could ask for!”

This scenario described above has been seen all throughout history. It could be found on a football field, local art contest, or at home when the failing grade is pulled out of the backpack. As children and teens, we have probably all experienced this ourselves. We aren’t going to always be winners, but the most important aspect is that we gave our absolute best effort; all that we had to give.

If we believe that the true testament of these earthly situations is that we gave it our best, how much more should we give God?

In Genesis 4:1-15, we see the familiar story of Cain and Abel. Here in verses 3-5 we see the pivotal moment of the passage, “When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.

Abel also brought a gift-the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gifts, but He did not accept Cain and his gifts. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.” Genesis 4:3-5

We do not know exactly why Cain’s gift was not accepted. We see here that the text clearly states that Abel brought his best, a firstborn lamb from his flock, while Cain presented some of his crops as a gift. But, the text also states that God accepted Abel and his gifts while he did not accept Cain and his gifts. So while Cain may have not brought the best of his crops, it also could be implied that Cain may have not offered the best of himself. His attitude regarding this act of worship could have been lacking as well.

What kind of gifts do we bring to God? Are we willing to give Him the absolute best of all that we have? What worldly things have taken God’s place and are currently receiving our best? And while sometimes it is difficult to sacrifice and give our best, many times it seems that it is more difficult for us to bring the best of ourselves. We allow so many other things to take the best of our time, attitude, and talent.

God deserves our best. He deserves our best offerings, praise, worship, and life. If we know that we haven’t been giving our best or being our best, pray to God – asking forgiveness for all the times we have gone through the motions and asking for a fresh heart of praise and worship. And when we breathe our last breath and see Him face to face, we want Him to be able to lift up our chin. We want to look Him in the eyes and when he asks, “Daughter, did you give your best,” we pray we can smile and say, “yes!”

This devotion was written by Amy Carrico, Author of Making the Moments Matter Blog!

Last Updated on March 4, 2024