“The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’” (Genesis 4:6-7)
The biggest problem the world faces these days, despite what the media and governmental institutions and leaders tell us, is how man and God can enter into right relationship. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they became alienated from Him. They did not trust Him nor did they trust each other as we see from their responses to God and each other. And their sin and distrust would result if the corruption of all human relationships. Men and women, husbands and wives, and children would become rivals, at odds with each other. They had to work hard in order to relate in a civil and amicable.
Despite the best efforts of human beings, chaos and violence resulted early on as we see with the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. Cain was jealous of Abel because God had looked favorably on his offering. God smiled on Abel for he had offered the first fruits of his flock, the best he could give. The Lord did not look kindly on Cain and his offering for apparently he had just offered some of his harvest, but not the best. When God rejected his offering Cain became angry and envious of Abel and murdered him. Like his parents, he tried to cover up his sin, but of course, the Lord sees all.
Many people these days follow in the way of Cain. They are filled with envy and malice towards their fellow human beings and wish to do them harm. They also seem to share Cain’s false notion that God does not see or care what we do, that we can cover it up or ignore it. Many even think they can ignore Him completely. This results in conflict, bitterness, and violence. We must recognize our need for the help of God to do away with such enmity. Therefore, until we human beings acknowledge our sinfulness we will not know we need a Savior. We must confess that we need to accept God’s solution to chaos, strife, and alienation which is by grace through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins on the cross. Once we come to faith in Jesus His sacrifice covers our sin and make us right with God. Then we are able to enter into intimate fellowship with Him.