Fogiven?

Read Genesis 4 today.

Recent happenings in this world have caused many people to talk and question our judicial system.  We wonder sometimes if people get what they deserve and often we try to be the judge over other people's lives when we really don't have the full picture.  We tend to think we know what is right and we even try to fix it when it not ours to fix.  The Casey Anthony trial is an example of this.  A woman was put on trial for the murder of her child.  It was not an ordinary trial but one that was televised and talked about extensively.  You could not listen to the news during the trial without hearing something about the case.  Most of us can get on facebook and see comments people have made about the trial and the verdict.  People are willing to pass their judgement on something they know little about although they think they know the entire story because of all the reports.  I, personally, did not follow the trial everyday but heard only what was reported on the news.  I did however, tune in to hear the verdict.  Why?  Partly because I wanted to hear the fate of this woman and partly because I was just a little curious to see if what I watch on "Law and Order" is anything like the real judicial system.  I have been fascinated by the judicial system since I was a senior in high school and in American Government class.  When Casey Anthony's verdict came in it was "not guilty" on all counts of murder and "guilty" of lying to the officials.  People being outraged over this verdict and thinking the justice system did not work has caused this person to go into hiding.  I heard on the news that she may have plastic surgery to change her looks and have to change her name.  Guilty or not her life will never be the same.  "What does this story have to do with a promise?"  you may ask, so, let's continue our study in Genesis 4 and find out. 

The story of Cain and Abel.  Let's first recap this account.  Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve.  They like Adam and Eve knew God, talked with God, and even walked with Him.  That sounds to me like a pretty amazing life!  What could go wrong when God is right there in your midst?  Now the story gets very interesting when it comes to them wanting to please God.  As you most likely know the fall of man resulted in God having to sacrifice an animal in order to clothe Adam and Eve after they had eaten of the fruit and realized they were naked.  Genesis 3:21.  That is what sin does, you can't hide from it, as it says in Numbers 32:23 "your sins will find you out".  It makes you vulnerable and makes you ashamed. 

Think back in your life time, have you ever tried to gain the attention of an important person in your life?  Maybe it was your parents attention that you felt you deserved but they were giving all their attention to a sibling rather than you.  It could have been a boss that you felt the co-worker always got more attention and all the promotions.  Maybe you wanted the teachers attention or a pastor's attention, the list goes on.  If you think about it, we have all probably been guilty of trying to gain someones attention.  How did you go about doing that?  Most likely we tried to outdo someone either in thoughts or actions.  I, myself, could never outdo one of my classmates.  She was more popular and more talented than I was and was always one of the first to be picked where I was always one of the last.  Oh, I wanted her life because everyone seemed to like her and she always got her way but I knew I couldn't be as good as her so I didn't even try.  I would rather search for her faults than go up against her in a competition.  It doesn't matter though, I was still just a s guilty as Cain because I wanted something I couldn't have.  I believe we are all, most likely, guilty of that and we probably don't realize that the other person is probably wanting to be someone they are not.  Simply stated, we don't know the whole story.

Now Cain and Abel set forth to please God.  Cain, as a worker of the fields brought a sacrifice of his fruits from the land that he worked to the Lord.  While Abel brought the fats of the firstborn of his animals that he cared for.  You might think those are both reasonable gifts to bring to the Lord, correct?  It states in Genesis 4:4b and 5a "The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor."  Now, you may think that it wasn't fair because both brought what they had to the Lord, both gave of their talents that God had given them and this should have pleased God.  Let's look at the second part of verse 5, "so Cain was very angry and his face was downcast."  As I thought about that, I began to wonder if God was not pleased because the intent of Cain's offering was to try to outdo his bother, not to bring a sacrifice of praise to God.  You see, God can see our hearts where we as humans only see the outward appearance.  Some people may give millions of dollars to the church but if it is for their own glory instead of out of a heart of love for God, it is not as pleasing to our God.  This is evident in the story of the offering of the widow as found in Mark 12:41-43.  "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.  Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.  Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said,  'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on.'   Jesus looked past the amount of money that was given and looked straight at the heart.  That scripture brings to mind to me a hymn I sang as a child of someone else who gave it all.  The chorus goes like this, "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it what as snow."  Just as in the story of the widow and in the story of Cain and Abel, nothing we give will mean anything to the Lord until we have given ourselves to Him.  We can not please Him by the things we do but by what is in our heart.  What is in your heart?   What have you given to Him lately?  What was your motivation for giving?   I don't expect you to answer that in the blog but ponder that for a few minutes.  Remember, He wants all of us, not part of us.

Back to Cain and Abel . . . God knew that Cain had only given a portion of himself, he wanted more from Cain.  I believe this because if he had given to his full capacity with the the right heart, God would have been pleased and Cain would not have become angry when God looked upon favor at Abel's offering and not Cain's offering.  In fact, God would have looked upon favor of both offerings.  But, something was missing and the Lord knew it. 

As the story continues Cain did what he thought would solve the problem, he would just get rid of the competition and he would do this by killing his brother.  The world has not changed, we see this in today's society, people literally and figuratively kill people everyday because of jealousy or envy.  So many in this world would rather get rid of the competition than step up to the competition.  They feel that it will make them feel better, more important, it is all about themselves and their needs rather than about the Lord and His needs.  This killing can take place in many ways from gossip to shunning, to making someone jealous who or just flat out ridiculing someone just to make ourselves look better and to get our way.  Think about it, are you guilty of any of these?  I know I am. 

As the story continues, God seeks out Cain to ask Him where his bother is and Cain denies knowing.  He lied to the all knowing God just like his parents tried to hide from a God who is ever present.  God, the only righteous judge passed His judgement on Cain, verses 11 and 12, "Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  When you walk the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.  You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."  Cain could not bear this punishment (vs. 13).  He responded further in verse 14 "Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."  It was still all about Cain, he is feeling sorry for himself but then God gives him a promise, verse 15. " But the Lord said to him, 'Not so; if anyone kills Cain he will suffer vengeance seven times over.'  Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.  So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden." 

The first sin, God sacrificed, the second sin recorded, God made a promise, and sin continues today.  Whether it is a hidden sin to others or an open sin televised for all the worlds to see, whether it is murder, a lie, or envy, we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God as we see in Romans 3:23.  If we look at the verse prior, we see that righteousness from God comes from faith through Jesus Christ to all who believe.  In other words, if we want to be right with God we need to have faith in Jesus.  If we want to be justified (forgiven, just as if we had never sinned), we can receive it freely because we were redeemed/forgiven because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  If you  need forgiveness, go to our Lord, thank Him for the promise given through the sacrifice on the cross for your sins.  He didn't banish you to be a wanderer, He made a way for you to come to Him.

If you need to forgive someone, remember that it is truly God who forgives and He is the one who knows the heart of those who have offended us, stolen from us, broken our hearts, He is the only one who can rightfully judge.  We are to forgive as we were forgiven, read Colossians 3:13.  Today, I pray that you will give it all to God, that you will hold to His promises, and that you will seek Him with all your hearts.

Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila