Moses 5:22-23

"And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth?  Why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted.  And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire.  And thou shalt rule over him."
Moses 5:22-23


I think that this is really interesting.  In this story, Satan tells Cain to make an offering to God... so Cain does.  Now, whether God didn't respect the offering because Cain did it for Satan, or whether the fruit that he offered was the worst fruit... who knows.  But the thing is... he is trying to teach Cain something here.  He's saying... don't get mad when I don't accept less than your best.  I need you to give me a serious offering, not just some off-the-cuff whatever-you-feel-like sacrifice... I need you to give me your absolute best.  And if you do, then I have something to work with... and I will make you better than you could ever dream on your own.  But if you only offer me part of yourself, then there is very little that I can do, because I can't touch the core of the problem.  You have to give me your heart.  If you do, then I can heal it, and change it into something that is purely good.  But if you only give me a piece of it, or only give me your brain or your hands... then there is only so much that I can do to help you.
If we do well, we will be accepted.  God promises us that.  Sometimes we have a hard time believing that, and we worry... what if my best isn't good enough?  What if I actually *do* throw myself into this gospel stuff, and even then don't measure up?  I know, we feel like that sometimes.  The thing is... your best is ALWAYS good enough.  As soon as we offer that sacrifice... a serious commitment, serious effort... loyalty... the minute that we throw ourselves into God's plan, heart and soul, God can step in, and make it good enough.  We can't be perfect, but God can perfect us... does that make sense?  Satan desires to have us all... and God can save us from that, but only if we want him to... only if we can let go of Satan, and allow ourselves to commit to God.  God can't change our hearts if we don't open them to him.