Chocolate Soup
I once read the quote, “Silence is golden...unless you have kids, then silence is just suspicious.” And it was quiet, very quiet. I was finishing up some work in the office and had not heard a peep from my then three-year-old daughter, Charlotte, in a while. I called out,
“Charlotte!”
“Yes!” she answered. I followed her sweet voice into the kitchen. If you know anything about Charlotte, you know she loves to cook and serve, especially for her father. She loved making her father all kinds of interesting culinary creations and serving them to him. I sensed that was what she was up to in the kitchen. “This is for Dahdee’s breakfast!” she said as I watched her add more ingredients to the already mysterious concoction she was stirring. Oatmeal, pancake mix, uncooked grits, Old Bay seasoning, raw egg, and only God really knows what else. She stirred it up, spooned it into a bowl, and was ready to go.
I helped her walk it up the stairs to the bedroom.
“I made you breakfast!” she told Tensley.
“Awwww! Thank you, Bayyy-bee!” he exclaimed, taking the bowl of mystery food. He set it down and gave her a big hug and a kiss. I cleared my throat to get his attention. He looked up at me, still smiling after the sweet gesture.
“DO NOT EAT THAT!” I mouthed, waving my hands frantically. Unless he wanted salmonella poisoning, he would be wise to heed my advice. He laughed as they broke their embrace.
“Chocolate Soup, Dahdee, try it!” she said. I tried to distract her to give him enough time to avoid eating the chocolate soup, which, by the way, had no chocolate in it, but to no avail; she stayed laser-focused on Dahdee. Never one to back down from a challenge, Tensley grabbed the spoon and took a big bite of the chocolate soup.
“Mmmmm, baby!” he said as he chewed, and I prayed. “This is amazing! This is dynamite!” I had to give it to him; he went much further than I would have. This is the kind of thing that made him super dad! He saw his baby’s heart, knew she only wanted to please him, and, at the risk of his own health, gladly accepted her offering.
“Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering” (Genesis 4-5). Have you ever wondered why God did not accept Cain's offering? To some, it may seem unfair. How did the brothers know what type of offering to bring? Maybe Cain did not get the memo. Did he bring the wrong type? Was Cain’s offering of lower quality than his brother’s? Maybe Abel just got lucky. Not quite. God accepted both blood and grain offerings, so it was not that (Leviticus 2). As for quality, Abel’s offering would have been a bloody mess, making Cain's offering look much more appealing, so it was not that either. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” The difference between Cain's sacrifice and Abel's was faith. God was not scrutinizing their sacrifices; He was looking at their hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). God accepted and honored Abel’s sacrifice because he offered it by faith with a pure heart. His heart desired to please the LORD.
“Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?” asked the LORD of Cain (Genesis 4:6-7). God allowed Cain to correct his ways, yet instead of repenting and turning toward God, Cain murdered his brother (8). God was right to reject his offering; Cain indeed had an evil heart.
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sings a song titled “Pleasing.” Its lyrics are inspired by Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart be acceptable, LORD, to You. May the songs that I sing, my life and offering, be pleasing, LORD, to You. All my heart I give; I want to live pleasing LORD to You; be ye pleasing LORD to You.”
“Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God is not going to scrutinize the ingredients of your Chocolate Soup; He is looking at your heart. God is looking for a child who loves Him, one with pure motives—a child who, by faith, brings their best offering. A child whose heart's desire is to please the Father.
