What Have You Done?
24014 Genesis 4:9,10 The Context: Cain and Able were the first two children of Adam and Eve. From indifference, jealousy and anger, Cain killed his brother Abel. They had both given an offering to God. Cain offered fruit and Able offered a lamb. We do not know the details of God's instructions about offerings. We do know that "God had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, He had no regard." "Cain was angry, and his face fell." Ignoring God's warning about the consequences of sin, Cain killed his brother Abel. When asked by God, "where is your brother?" Cain replied with the now common phrase "I don't know, am I my brother's keeper." In response to Cain's attitude and behavior, God asked Cain...
God Asks Us: "What have you done?"
jne: Being Everywhere-Present and All-Knowing, God knew exactly what Cain had done. God does not ask what I have done in order to to improve His knowledge but to prompt me to more seriously think about what I have done. Like Adam and Eve, Cain did not seriously consider the deadly consequences of sin. And I, like you and all descendants of Adam, rarely think about the consequences of our sin until it is too late. Even then, we often blame the consequences on something other than our sin. While God can, and does, rescue us from our sin by His Grace, it is valuable to contemplate the fact that it is my sin that is the root of all bad things in the world and in my life. It is my sin, our sin, for which only the death of Jesus Christ could pay. Contemplating what I have done ought to lead me to contemplate what God has done through Jesus to give me His LIFE rather than the death I deserve. The sorrow of thinking about what I have done can lead to the Joy of thinking about what God has done to forgive me.