Lessons from the Saints: Cain and Abel (who are you going to be?)

Passage: Genesis 4

Pillar: The fifth- God's glory

Notes:
In considering the lives of these two men we are challenged to ask three questions in order to determine are we going to be more like Cain or Abel in our lives of worship to God (as Romans 12:1 calls us to).

• Will you give your best to God?

see Genesis 4:3-5; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:10-11
As Christians we are called to present our whole bodies as living sacrifices to God, not simply a lamb or produce like Cain and Abel did. The question we must ask is are we going to give the best of our lives to God, to glorify and serve Him, or are we going to keep some for ourselves?
Consider the gifts God has given us and the places He has placed us. We are to use our talents to honor God and serve Him. God has given us each families, friends and activities to participate in. Are we honoring God in those relationships or seeking to live for ourselves first? These are hard questions to answer. But we need to be asking "am I giving my best to God in this (activity, relationship, homework assignment, etc)."

• Will you be ruled by sin?

see Genesis 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:8; Romans 6:16-18
1 Peter warns us that our enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring liking seeking for someone to devour. The Devil wants to pull us from glorifying God and make us think about ourselves first. Will we give into the temptation to sin or will we rule over sin and deny its temptations? We have to determine to not give into sin and to live lives that honor God.

• What will you be remembered for?

see Genesis 4:10-16; Hebrews 11:4
Cain was marked as cursed by God and was in fear of being killed by others. Throughout history he is remembered as the first person to commit murder and the example of giving a poor offering to God. R.C. Sproul calls him the archetype of Satan's followers (in The Reformation Study Bible notes).
Abel is forever remembered as a man of faith who gave an acceptable offering to God and is commended as righteous, "and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks", as Hebrews 11:4 shows us.
When our lives are done how will we be remembered? Will we be seen as people who gave our best to honor and serve God in all we did? I hope we will. We will be continuing in the JHC to encourage and push each other towards righteousness and holiness, seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. Amen.