Day 3

Initially after reading the account of the murder of innocent Abel by his older brother Cain in Genesis 4, I was thinking about how often I misdirect my anger and hurt those who have little to do with my situation.  Cain was really angry at God for not accepting his offering, but took that anger out on his brother.  But then, WHAM!  All of a sudden, I was looking at how God reacted to Cain.  The popular notion of God is that if you do something wrong, God is going to ‘get you’.  God strikes with lightning bolts or rains down fire and brimstone.  But here is Cain, the perpetrator of a premeditated murder who you would think should ‘get what’s coming to him’ and God is gracious!  He doesn’t get the electric chair.   God announces a curse and sends Cain into exile.  Cain indeed suffers because of his action; but in the end, God actually protects and preserves his life.  God’s law is frequently invoked to support the continuation of the death penalty, but I think God’s response to Cain gives us another option–one that does not require violence in response to violence.