Cain and Abel
Scripture Reading: Genesis 4:1–14
“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground,” Genesis 4:1–2.
Cain and Abel
God loves you with an unconditional love. He is your Father, and because He loves you, He is partial to you in every matter that involves you. He has assured you of the mercies of David, and it is because He is merciful that we are alive today. What are you offering God in return? The story of Cain and Abel is a very deep passage that examines our offerings to God: the offering of our service, our relationship, and our lives to Him. When we talk about offering, people think money, but offering is not just about money. It is about what you offer with your time, actions and intentions beyond money. What are you offering to God today?
Cain was a taker; his name actually means “I have received from God.” His relationship was totally about receiving; he did not know how to give. Cain offered to God fruit that was perishable. Cain was careless, carnal, and cursed. He was not respected and he was envious. He was a killer, a grumbler, and he was marked. Cain played his casual note to God. He was a professional requester and a collector of blessings, and that is why even after he had fallen, he knew how to request deliverance, pardon, and the mark needed to avoid the punishment he deserved.
Abel on the other hand, was a perfect giver. He was very careful about his relationship with God. Abel’s name means “breath,” which is life, and that is why his blood spoke after his flesh died. Abel was spirit and he was blessed. He was respected as God confirmed. He was envied; He was the one who was exemplary, the one marked for perfection. Abel played his ultimate note in his offering to God. Abel was a professional servant. He was not a receiver or a collector; he was agiver, a transmitter. Abel gave a sacrifice of blood in his animal offering: he gave total commitment to God without any expectation of replenishment.
Are you an Abel or a Cain in your offerings and services to God? If you are relating to God the way Cain related to Him, I pray that God will deliver you and upgrade you from a Cain to an Abel, from a taker to a giver. I pray that your relationship with God will not be about receiving but giving, that it will be on a note of appreciating God for who God is and having a relationship with God not for the sake of your needs but for God’s sake. May God deliver us from the spirit of the receiver and cause us to be givers in Jesus’ name. The giver is always more blessed than the taker. May God upgrade us from the glory of the moon, which is the receiver from the sun and reflects the light, to the glory of the sun, which transmits the light. May God deliver us from the attitude of the receiver, and may He take us to the glory of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and give us the grace to ask, “How may I give?”
Prayer Points:
Father God, we thank you for all that you have brought us through, for your arm of deliverance at the different stages of our lives. Give us the grace of a giving heart and cause us to offer our best in every area at all times. Deliver us from the Cain mentality and enable us to embrace the Able attitude. Respect all our offerings to you and may they give you pleasure, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
