Two Brothers
By Douglas B. Clark
I have often wondered how it was possible that Cain and Abel could be brothers, yet so different from one another? How was it that one brother knew what was an appropriate sacrifice and the other did not? And what caused Cain to envy his brother to the point that it escalated to murder? How could two brothers be so contrary?
Cain was a worker of the earth; a tiller of the ground and Abel was a keeper of sheep. Cain offered a sacrifice from the fruit of the earth that God did not accept, while his brother, Abel, intuitively knew to offer a blood sacrifice even though there is no record of God requesting a blood sacrifice.
I am asking you to consider a new perspective regarding Cain and Abel. Instead of thinking of a story about two brothers, please consider this: There are two opposing forces that reside in the believer that are much like what is pictured in the story of Cain and Abel. We are born first into this earthly realm a living soul, and like Cain, we are workers of the earth and earth minded, disconnected from communion with our Creator and unable to discern the sacrifice God desires. Read the rest of this entry »