the hidden man

Genesis 4:³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. ⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵ but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. 

Hebrews 4:⁴ It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel's offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

Shirley and I watched the current "Bible" miniseries segment last night.  It was very dramatic and effective and we were moved by the parting of the Red Sea and the stories of Samson and David.  But as I reflected on the show I realized that the film maker has a real challenge in communicating the Bible on the screen.  Beyond the great quantity of stories to choose from, which is a challenge in itself, there is the problem of showing what is happening in the "hidden man of the heart".  So much of the story that the Bible tells happens in those invisible spaces of the heart and spirit and that is hard to show visually.  In Genesis this week we are reading the account of Cain and Abel.  The visible part of their story comes from the sacrifices they bring and we can tend to focus on that: a lamb vs crops.  But the real drama of the story comes from the unseen part.  Apparently Abel had a faith relationship with the Lord and his offering came from a "right attitude".  Cain apparently didn't have this kind of relationship with the Lord and when Abel's sacrifice was accepted and his wasn't, he responded the wrong way.  He could have responded differently and asked the Lord about it and explored where he was lacking.  God even communicates with Cain at this point and guides him to the source of his problem, but Cain shoves God away and chooses to dwell in anger, which led to the murder of Abel.  I was impressed with the importance we each have of working on the "hidden person" within...our attitude toward God and how it shapes everything we ultimately do.

blessings,

Rob Smith