First Promise of Restoration

Scripture: So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Genesis 4:6-7

Observation: Cain and Abel presented their offerings to the Lord, and the Lord accepted Abel's but rejected Cain's. It is understood this is because Cain's offering was simply part of his excess harvest, and not an offering made from the best of his crop, while Abel offered his firstborn lamb. As Cain laments this, God speaks to him and offers corrective advice ... don't be sad, just do better! Next time, offer a proper sacrifice, and you will be accepted.

That's all Cain has to do. Cain does not have to fix his past, just do it right next time. He doesn't have to re-do the original offering, or pay some penance or penalty for the first failure. Instead, God simply says, do it well next time and I will absolutely accept your offering. However, if you continue to do poorly, this is the entry for sin into your life.

Application: This is the same solution God gives us all every day. God knows I screw up every day ... I sin, I get angry, I deceive. God just says 'hey, do better next time, but if you don't then know that sin piles up.'

I try to do better. Of course none of us can be perfect, and Jesus provides relief for the piled-up sin. However, when I do succeed in setting aside the badness in my life - and getting something right the next time - God certainly notices and accepts it. Thanks to his love manifested by the forgiveness of Jesus' sacrifice, God doesn't keep score and weigh the bad against the good. He sees the good effort, and accepts it - and me - by that act.

May I therefore be better today and in this new year. I don't want to be better in order to counteract my actions of the past, but rather to simply be acceptable to God today. The past is forgiven. The future can be acceptable, and thus I can walk closer with God every day.

Prayer: Lord, I desire to simply get things right this day, not to make up for the past, but to be acceptable to you this day. And then to repeat that every day as much as I can. Thank you for your forgiveness of my past failures, and for providing good information and teaching so I can know how to present myself to you now. Amen.