The pursuit of Truth continues

As I respond with the following to my friend:

(Me to Todd) It seems as though we Westerners are far too guilty of making God and the gospel into what we want, rather than what God says.  Even in believing that God doesn't save all, we (myself included) still find ways to sugar coat it as best we can.  I've been listening to David Platt's radical sermon series (1/2 way through) and a resounding theme is: do we count the cost of following Christ?  Do we really believe the Bible?  Because if we do, we have to actually live it out.  (Which is quite convicting!)

Regarding Paul's words on Jacob and Esau: 

(As you found) Mal. 1:2-3

 ^2 (A)“I have loved you,” says the LORD. ^(B)But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau ^(C)Jacob's brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet ^(D)I have loved Jacob ³ but Esau I have hated.^(E)I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”

Gen. 25:23

And the LORD said to her,

   ^(AB)“Two nations are in your womb,
   and two peoples from within you^[c] shall be divided;
^(AC)the one shall be stronger than the other,
   ^(AD)the older shall serve the younger.”

God isn't directly saying he'll love Jacob and hate Esau, but from the beginning it was clear that the two brothers would be at odds.  And it seems natural that God would take one side over the other.  

It is cool/challenging to look at the world through the lens of favoritism.  To the unfavored, retaliation seems so right, so normal.  We see it in your examples below, throughout the world, and even within myself.  I can think of a few examples where I felt like my brother was favored over me and so I retaliated against him.  

Genesis 4:¹ Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten^[a] a man with the help of the LORD.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of ^(A)the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of ^(B)the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD ^(C)had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but ^(D)for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ^7 (E)If you do well, will you not be accepted?^[b]And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. ^(F)Its desire is for^[c] you, but you must rule over it.”

{As I read this passage, I thought back to Jacob and Esau.  Cain was the elder brother and yet the younger was favored.  Also reminds me of of Adam and Jesus, with Jesus being the "second Adam."  And the first serving the second.  And then I'm reminded that God chooses the lowly and discarded. 

1 Cor.1

²⁷ But ^(AO)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(AP)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(AQ)things that are not, to ^(AR)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(AS)that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us^(AT)wisdom from God, ^(AU)righteousness and ^(AV)sanctification and ^(AW)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(AX)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

So, I think we see a constant theme throughout the Bible of the Lord choosing the underdogs.  One of the best sermons I've heard and that stuck with me was at City Church by your counterpart -- on David being chosen and his father overlooking him.  He was considered the weak one by his family, yet look what the Lord did through him!  Which, ultimately gives us a great sense of hope and excitement -- think what the Lord could do through us, though we are but weak and messy ones!  This concludes my tangent.}

My first thought: Abel gave the Lord the firstborn -- so rather than what he gave, it was the meaning/heart behind it.  The Lord cares more about our hearts than the actual action.

Psalm 51:

^16 (AD)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; 
   you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^(AE)a broken spirit; 
   a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

The Beattitudes

Jesus 21:

 ^1 (A)Jesus^[a] looked up and saw the rich ^(B)putting their gifts into ^(C)the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two^(D)small copper coins.^[b] 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^(E)this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her^(F)poverty put in all ^(G)she had to live on.”

Which is not to say that our actions don't matter; they do.  However, they're not the basis of our salvation.  Abel wasn't saved because of his offering; however, because he was favored, perhaps his offering was greater.  You could get yourself into a chicken and egg conundrum here -- is one saved because of their actions OR are one's actions a result of their salvation (or lack there of).  Being the good Calvinist I am, I go with the latter.  

If God's not partial (a big theme of Romans) then He predestines whom He predestines.  So I don't think He choose (meaning salvation) Abel over Cain because of his sacrifice.  Yet, perhaps the Lord was more pleased with Abel over Cain because Abel gave the Lord something meaningful and important...assuming that was an overflow of how he felt for the Lord.  And, as you know better than I, the Law dictates that we give our first fruits, our best, to the Lord.  

I think we can relate to this in our own lives: I believe the Lord has chosen/predestined me.  Yet, do I always please Him?  No.  Which, in a way, brings us back to the original question of love.  If God has chosen me, then He always loves me, unconditionally.  Though being in a relationship, there are times when He is more or less pleased with me than other times.  Subsequently, there are times when I am not pleased with Him -- at least for a time because I don't like what He's doing, but that doesn't change the definition of our relationship: Him being my God.