The Murderer

(This is the third of what I hope to be many devotions based on the people of the Bible. Since we are children of God by faith in Jesus, all the believers in the Bible are our brothers and sisters. The more we learn about our family in the Bible, the more we learn about Jesus’ love and salvation for us. The devotions will be written with children and families in mind, but I hope that they are beneficial for Christians of all ages.)

Can you imagine being the very first person to see a little baby? Babies are so precious, aren’t they? When the first mother Eve gave birth to the first baby ever, she was excited! She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man” (Genesis 4:1). Who had that first little baby boy really come from? God! Do you know what Eve named him? Cain.

You might think that Adam and Eve would have a perfect family, but if you think that, you’re forgetting something. What had Adam and Eve done that was bad? They had sinned against God (Genesis 3:1-24). Because of sin, there are no perfect people or perfect families.

In fact, this first baby grew up and did something awful. Cain had a younger brother. One day, both Cain and his younger brother decided to give offerings to God. That seems like a good thing, doesn’t it? It’s just that God accepted Cain’s brother’s sacrifice, but God didn’t accept Cain’s sacrifice. Cain hadn’t made his offering with faith in his heart (Hebrews 11:4).

So Cain got angry. Do you ever get angry? Watch out! Anger always leads to more sins. God came to Cain and warned him about his anger: “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). 

Can you think of an animal that crouches? A lion or a tiger or a jaguar…. When you and I are angry, sin is like a lion or a tiger or a jaguar ready to snatch our hearts and minds.

Do you think Cain listened to God and put away his anger? He should have, but he didn’t. Cain killed his younger brother (Genesis 4:8). Isn’t that awful? Cain was the first murderer.

This is pretty serious stuff, isn’t it? Have you ever killed someone else? I hope not! Except, listen to this Bible passage: “Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him” (1 John 3:15). Do you understand what that means? To God, hating or being angry with someone is just as bad as murder.

It’s so easy to get angry with other people, isn’t it? Maybe even with our own brothers and sisters. Watch out for anger! Don’t be like Cain who let his anger lead to even more sins.

This is why we need Jesus and his forgiveness. We don’t just need forgiveness for the sins we do on the outside. We need Jesus’ forgiveness for the sins we do on the inside—like anger and hating and jealousy. Don’t let those sins crouch in your heart. Confess them to Jesus and trust in his forgiveness for you—and for your brothers and sisters too.

Dear Jesus, it’s so easy to get angry. It’s so easy to hate others. Forgive us! Keep sin from crouching in our hearts. Instead, help us love others like you love us. Amen.

(To learn more about Cain’s sad story, read Genesis 4:1-24 and 1 John 3:11-15.)