This past Sunday night at youth group we encountered the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. As I studied this passage I was blown away by how quickly sin was polluting and destroying the earth God had created and how quickly it was accelerating in the heart of man! But even more than the devastation of sin, the story of Cain and Abel is a remarkable insight into God's fierce grace towards people who are completely undeserving.
The Crime vs. The Punishment
After having his sacrifice rejected by God, Cain fell into the depths of depression (Gen 4:5) God lovingly approached Cain and warned him regarding the road he was traveling down internally, Cain ignored God and killed his brother Abel in a jealous rage. This was the first murder in the history of humanity and God had a choice: He could have given Cain the penalty that fit the crime and struck him down at that moment. This would have set a strong precedent for anyone who would think to commit murder again knowing that God was watching and would punish murder swiftly, strongly, and completely.
But God chose grace!
God did punish Cain, making him a wanderer and an outcast, also taking away his profession by cursing him not allowing the ground to yield him food. But when God could have justly killed, He was gracious with Cain, God spared his life, gave him a mark of protection, and modeled the patience and grace that would be later so evident in Jesus Christ.
We Find Ourselves in the Story
We, like Cain find ourselves standing guilty before God staring a punishment of death in the face. We, like Cain are totally dependent on God's grace for forgiveness, life, and hope. And we, like Cain have not been given what we deserve because God, through Jesus Christ has bestowed fierce, powerful, white-hot grace on us. Through Jesus we do not face wrath but we have been graciously given life. I Thessalonians says it best:
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ"
The story of the gospel is that we are Cain! And God has been abundantly gracious to us by allowing His own son to bear the penalty of our sin, making us clean, forgiven, and redeemed!
The 2 Million Dollar Question
What is your response to God's grace? Have you responded to God's grace? Is this a truth that merely lives in your head or is it a motivating, life giving reality that is the lens on which you view life?
Grace-given people are Grace-driven people!
The grace we have been given in Christ is the single greatest thing to happen to anyone at any point in human history! This is not something that was given so we could take advantage of it, hide it, or store it away, but God's grace needs to motivate us to be the most gracious people we possibly can be.
The gospel frees us from having to be the star of our own lives, so when we are sinned against, hurt, or taken advantaged of, we have the freedom forgive and magnify God's grace towards us by our love and kindness towards others. We don't have to get even, we don't have to defend ourselves, we don't have to hold grudges, but we are free to live in a way that magnifies the grace of our savior and to embrace the joy and freedom found in him.
The gospel does not deliver us from hurt or pain caused by others, but it does free from holding onto that hurt and pain. So often we remove joy from our lives when we are consumed by what others have done to us when it can never compare to what Jesus has done for us!
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