Divine Favour and Correction

Understanding God's Impartiality

"And Abel also brought an offering – fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favour on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast”.

Our God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, is impartial. However, there are reasons why God looks with favour on one and without favour on another. He justifies our offerings based on our thoughts, feelings, and the intentions with which we offer them.

When God does not accept our offering, we should naturally feel sad and try to rectify things that are not pleasing to Him. But here, we see Cain getting angry with his brother Abel, showing his anger on his face. We have no right to show our anger to anyone, especially our siblings. Look at how God deals with Cain, helping him understand that what he did was wrong. God is wise enough to get the answers by asking questions.

The three questions God asked Cain were:

• Why are you angry?
• Why is your face downcast?
• If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?

Yes, let us reflect on the reasons for our anger and how we express it. God justifies His impartiality with reasons. How beautifully God helps Cain understand his fault! God also warns him about what to do and how to overcome anger:

If you do not do what is right,

• Sin is crouching at your door
• It desires to have you
• But you must master it

A valuable lesson to learn and remember is that if we do right in the sight of the Lord, we find favour in His eyes. If we do evil in the sight of the Lord, sin will be at our door. God tells us we should not let sin take hold of us because it desires to have us. What a dire situation we would be in if we allowed sin to control us! Let us learn from Cain's mistake and be cautious.

Prayer: Lord, you advise us that we should master sin by not giving in to its temptations. Help us examine ourselves to see if we are at peace with each of our brothers and sisters, and enable us to treat them kindly to receive Your favour. Assist us in answering these three questions and obeying Your condition for us: "You must master it."