Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” – Genesis 4:10-12
Cain had some serious issues. He had done wrong in a big way but refuses to acknowledge it. God was looking for a repentant heart when he asked Cain for his brother’s whereabouts. Cain’s response shows his frustration with the rejection of his offering. God rejected Cain’s sacrifice and accepted Abel’s for one reason and one reason alone – Cain gave his sacrifice with the wrong motives. He gave his sacrifice to God with a heart filled with envy, hatred, anger and jealousy. He was warned when he expressed these negative emotions. God warned him that sin was crouching at his door but he ignored the heads up. When God asked him why he was angry, he could have confessed that he was upset that his offering was not accepted in the same manner his brother’s offering was. God would have understood but he chose to mask the sin instead. Cain’s failure to come clean in honesty cost him very dearly.
When we are wrong and we refuse to accept our wrongdoing and repent, we are in for a lot more trouble than we bargained for. Rejection can create a huge amount of discord and as we can see in the above scripture passage. It can ultimately lead to murder. God rejected Cain’s offering because his life was not an acceptable sacrifice. God does not look at the outward appearance or the gifts we bring; He is more concerned about the state of our hearts and the motives behind our offering. Cain’s heart was clearly in the wrong place and God could see that very clearly. It is important to know that even though Cain’s sacrifice was rejected, God never rejected Cain. There were consequences for killing his brother because for every seat there will always be a price tag attached.
What kind of sacrifice is your life? Is it a sweet smelling sacrifice or does your life and the way that you are living it stink to high heavens? Don’t make the mistake that Cain made. Do not let rejection ruin your life. Even though friends and family may reject you, God does not reject you. The feeling of rejection is like a dangerous cancer – it seeps into every aspect of our lives and causes pain and despair. When you place your identity in the right place which is in God, no one can reject you. It’s like water off a duck’s back. All you need to do is focus on doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. Make your life a beautiful living sacrifice to God and He will never fail in fulfilling His purpose in your life.
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