Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Genesis: Chapter 4

What a sad chapter.  Even in today's sin-soaked world, family violence breaks our hearts.  Cain, like many today, gave outward evidence of honoring God.  But God looks at the heart and what He saw was evidently not pleasing.  The attitude of Cain's heart was lacking when he made the offering.  Sadly, Cain was not interested in understanding God's 'rejection.'  Cain was interested in himself.  It would seem he never heard God's warning that sin was crouching at the door.  Cain had a choice; we all have choices.  We are responsible for choosing well.  The murder of a brother doesn't just happen...Cain had failed to master the sin that took hold when Cain chose his anger as his right--and rejected relating to God.

God maintained communication with Cain; He spoke to Cain, He sought him out.  Yet, Cain gave no indication that he valued God or anything other than his own self.  There is no evidence in Cain's responses that he felt remorse for his choices--or even a desire to know God's preferences. When we allow our desires to master us, we lose our spiritual hearing too.  Most of all, we lose our relationship to the heavenly Father .  When that happens, the legacy we weave is one of continual pain and suffering--a heritage that produces greater and greater depravity. As Warren Wiersbe states it:  'The marks of God's children are faith, hope and love (1 Cor 13:13); the marks of the devil's children are unbelief, despair and hatred.  We see those marks in Cain and those of his lineage.  Cain built an amazing society--but the marks of Satan stained it all. Murderous rage reigned. 

It doesn't have to be that way.  We still have choices: the chapter ends with hope.  Adam and Eve were given a new child for their heritage to be built.   We have the choice to be marked as God's children--what joy!

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