"This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil and his brother had been doing what was right. So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves we have passed from death into eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another Christian is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them." 1 John 3:11-15
Love one another. God first rendered this command in the Old Testament book of Leviticus before making it a staple of the New Testament. John particularly makes sure we remember the command in first his gospel and then his epistles. Why is the concept so important? Because love is central to what God is all about. He loves us as His children, so much so that He gave His Only Son Jesus to die for us, bearing our sins on the cross. Yet with love so central to God, Jesus and the scriptures, we still live in a world that chooses to hate.
John uses the Old Testament account of Cain and Abel to highlight the topic of love versus hate and what consequences might result in choosing not to love one another. Referring back to Genesis, Chapter 4, you'll find that Cain and Abel were both sons of Adam and Eve who through their disobedience to God in the garden, ushered all mankind into affliction by sin. And, as you might expect, sin played a big role in the relationship between the two brothers.
It all started going awry when the brothers brought their traditional sacrifices to God. Both knew what they should bring but only one did. Both knew what was right and wrong but only one did what was right. And to make matters worse, the brother who knew he was wrong didn't repent and seek forgiveness but rather went onto do wrong a second time out of hatred and received the brunt of God's wrath. Rest assured of this, God hates sin.
In the story, Abel brings the proper sacrifice and is commended by God. Cain on the other hand brings less than his best and does not receive the favor his brother does. So he lures Abel out into the field and murders him. His actions draw sharp condemnation from God who places a curse on Cain that removed his ability to produce crops, the very skill that won him his livelihood. Yet, God still showed Cain mercy and marked him so he would not be killed. Love still won out over wrath. Mercy flowed in the midst of disappointment. Such is our Heavenly Father, our Almighty Parent above.
So why did John have to mention Cain and Abel again? Because the problem of hatred leading to murder had not went away. Indeed, we still see stories daily of one person killing another or others out of pure hatred. We need to be reminded of God's expectation to love one another.
There's one other important point to bring up on this topic. Jesus took the law of the Old Testament and built upon it, not replacing the law but rather expanding it. In the case of the commandment, "Thou shall not murder", Jesus said this in His Sermon on the Mount:
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." (Matthew 5:21-26)
Notice in this passage that Jesus expands the definition of murder to include anger and even name-calling. For murder gets started by the spark of anger within someone. So to be truly obedient to God, we cannot even begin to show anger toward another without being convicted of murdering that person. Keep in mind that God, our Father, created us to love and showed us the greatest model of love in His Son Jesus. Also keep in mind that God hates sin and can’t be in partnership with anyone engaged in it. Hate and anger are sinful and of the Devil. Choose to partner with these emotions and you will choose to partner with the Devil and distance yourself from God. This would be acting as Cain did. Choose to do what is right and act in obedience to God and you can partner with Him.
Question: Are you like Cain or Abel? How well do you love others? Are you quick to anger or name-calling? How do you choose to respond to those who would choose to show anger and hatred toward you?
Using Jesus as our main reference point, we see that He responded to the hate filled mob at the cross by asking His Father in Heaven to forgive them. He realized that they did not know what they were doing because they didn’t know Him.
Today, we are assailed by those who don’t know Him as well. And as in all things, we need to model Christ in how we respond to others. For those who don’t know Jesus are under the control of the Devil, as were those at the cross. Are you ready to forgive those who hate you? Are you ready to exhibit Christ-like grace? Keep in mind that your response toward others might just be the experience that either draws them to Jesus or drives them away. In all matters of life, we are to show that Christ dwells within us. Always remember that you may be the first glimpse of Christ that someone else sees.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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