Cain

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

Cain. Son of Adam. Brother of Abel. The first murderer.

It didn't take long for humans to wage war with one another. The Bible records that the first murder occurred when Cain, son of Adam and Eve, murdered his brother Abel. The murder was born out of jealousy and anger. These are emotions that (to our best knowledge) had never been felt before by a human being. Cain had to choose how he would respond to these feelings and he chose to rebel against God by killing another human being. Rather than humble himself and seek to please God, Cain allowed his anger to move him in an unrighteous way. Which is why I thought it strange that a Christian band would assume the name, "Cain."

A few nights ago, I went to the movies with my wife and some good friends. We were seeing Christmas with The Chosen (you can learn more about it here). One of the bands that performed was Cain, a Christian country trio. As I'm listening to them perform I'm asking myself, "Why did they choose the name Cain?" I didn't know this at the time but it's because they are siblings and their last name is Cain. Regardless, as I finished my thought in the theater, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, "Shane, your name might as well be Cain."

I was a little taken off guard by what He said but it's true. I might as well be Cain. You might as well be Cain, too. In fact, I don't think there's a person on earth who hasn't rebelled against God.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment... (Matthew 5:21-22a)

Most people who compare themselves to Cain might say, "Well, I didn't murder anyone so I guess I'm better than he was." But you see, that's not what God says. Jesus, who I believe to be the Son of God, infamously preached on a hilltop that if anyone has held onto anger against someone without just cause, they are in danger of judgment. The response from his audience might have been, "Rabbi, who hasn't done such a thing?" The answer is no one.

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10)

Ultimately, we are all murderers. We are all adulterers. We are all idolizers. We are all guilty of sin and in danger of hellfire. Jesus placing murder and anger on the same level should humble us and lead us to repentance. It should cause us to think very hard about what rebellion against God looks like. We must be made aware of how subtle sin can be. God warned Cain that sin desires to have him. The enemy devours in mass by leading us to believe that we're not as sinful as we think. But the truth is, we are all Cain.

The good news is that means there is nobody too far removed from God to be saved. The grace and love of God is this - that Jesus Christ died in our place on the Cross. This grace cannot be bought and it cannot be earned. But it can and should change us. A good friend of mine recently shared with me, "Grace is opposed to earning, but not opposed to effort."

As we humble ourselves and pray before God, we must identify how God's grace is moving us to action. What are those actions? Are we content continuing in sin or do we have a real desire to share this grace with others? Because I believe if we truly believed how sinful we are and how much we need God's grace, we would make it a priority to share this love with the world around us.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)