“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings”
Hebrews 11:4 (NIV)
It’s interesting that the first person who gets mentioned in Hebrews 11’s “Faith Hall of Fame” is Abel, one of Adam and Eve’s sons.
What did Abel do that caused him to be included alongside Moses and Abraham and other significant biblical heroes in Hebrews 11? As far as we know, Abel never did anything great. He never took any major risks. But he gave an offering in faith, and that pleased God. It’s not what Abel gave; it’s how he gave it. Abel gave with an attitude of faith.
Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings” (NIV).
Giving and faith go together. God couldn’t care less about the amount you give. God doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart.
In fact, if you’re not giving in faith, don’t give. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).
There are two ways to give: You can give by reason, or you can give by revelation.
To give by reason is to sit down, look at the numbers, and figure out reasonably what you think it makes sense to give. But that approach doesn’t require any faith at all.
When you give by revelation, on the other hand, you let God reveal to you what he wants you to give in faith. You stop and take time to pray, asking, “God, how much do you want me to trust you for this time?” Then you do whatever he tells you to do. This is the kind of giving that stretches your faith because it’s not necessarily reasonable. It’s giving based on revelation.
In the Bible, there were a group of early Christians that gave by revelation, not by reason. They lived in Macedonia, the same part of Greece that Alexander the Great came from. The Macedonian church had been through hard times and was extremely impoverished. Yet, when they heard that the church at Jerusalem needed help, they gave a sacrificial gift. Though the Macedonians had very little money themselves, they gave in faith to help their fellow Christians.
Paul says this about them: “They have been tested by great troubles, and they are very poor. But they gave much because of their great joy” (2 Corinthians 8:2 NCV).
Teaching is a passion, and my experience as a teacher has been beautiful, emotional and fulfilling. Over the years, I’ve watched the student – teacher equation evolve: From Guru, as all-knowing to Guru as friend and equal, as someone who doesn’t always know the best. Today’s teacher and the learner are partners in the process of teaching and learning. We inspire, motivate and learn from each other; if I don’t know, I can admit it to my students. The teacher is only a facilitator; one who will help the student grow, become a self-learner. The teacher is only one of many sources. Not infrequently, there is a role reversal. With children being so tech-savy, often I am the student and they are my teachers. Has teaching changes the way I think ? Yes, most certainly. My students have shown me how to manage time. I marvel at how deftly they juggle sports, academics, dance, and theatre, for instance. I have learnt how to accept failure as I see my students taking success and failure with equan...
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