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13 -- What does your heart contain?
GENESIS 4:1-7
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife, so she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the earth. 3 And after days it happened that Cain offered from the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the LORD, 4 and Abel also offered from the firstborn of his sheep and of their fat. Now the LORD had regard for Abel and his sacrifice, 5 but for Cain and his sacrifice he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why have you become angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do what is good, will there not be elevation? And if you do not do what is good, then sin is lurking at the door, and its desire is towards you, and you rule over it.”
Children have received their inborn inclinations from their parents, so that their behavior often reveals the inheritance, which was passed on to them. The first thing that became evident was disobedience and greed, rebellion and killing. But from another side also faith and worship of God became evident, because His image did not completely vanish from humans.
Cain worked with earnestness and toil, to seek wealth depending on his personal strength. He dreamt of a comfortable life in the city of his imagination (see Genesis 4:17). He submitted to God, but without delight, and he did not offer Him a sacrifice from all his heart, but he repented superficially and did not deliver himself completely to God. So he relied on his possessions and his own self, deeming himself strong and great.
Abel, however, was weak from the beginning, as the meaning of his name indicates: “faint breath”. The marks of death were visible on him. And this is what drove him to God. So he prayed much, believing in the help of the Mighty One in the midst of his hard work as a shepherd. And with a heart full of thanksgiving he sacrificed what was most precious to him, delivering himself as a living sacrifice to God. God favorably accepts the sacrifice of a complete life, not because this person is good, but because he puts himself at the disposition of God, with no restrictions.
So Cain hated his brother Abel, because he was closer than he was to God. He felt envy due to his slavery to sin and the freedom of the Spirit of God in his brother. But God did not only address the devout one, but he also spoke directly to the hating one, to show him the way to life. Thus God's mercy is open to all people, and His word guides you even if you fall into the ugliest sin.
A devout person completes his salvation with fear and trembling, and with longing for God's redemption and its fulfillment, in faith and thanksgiving. But the person that depends on himself becomes a prey to sin lying in wait for him to enslave him more and more. For he who lives without God becomes a slave of sin. And when a man imagines that he is strong and great, elevating himself, he becomes a fettered prisoner of the spirit of Satan.
MEMORIZE: If you do what is good, will there not be elevation? And if you do not do what is good, then sin is lurking at the door, and its desire is towards you, and you rule over it. (Genesis 4:7)
PRAYER: Oh Father, forgive us our dependence on our own endeavors and teach us to look to you, building our lives on the reconciliation of your Son. Protect us from the rule of sin so that it will not enslave us. Establish us in the freedom of your children, with all those who have been called in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.