Why is our Lord Jesus so important? He is the
Way (John 14:6) - that is,
the way, the only way, to the Father. That God made a single door for all
to pass through if they are to find forgiveness and life is a critical
aspect of His truth.
All the way back near the beginning of things, as recorded in Genesis 4:3-7,
the sons of Adam and Eve - Cain and Abel - brought sacrifices to the Lord.
Abel brought a sacrifice "of the flock", a firstborn, having
(obviously)
taken its life. Cain brought a bloodless offering from the "fruit of
the
ground".
Abel was accepted, Cain not. God asked Cain, "If you do well, will
you not
be accepted?". Cain tried to come to God,
but he did not come God's WAY.
Cain tried. Cain labored. Cain may have been sincere. Cain
believed in
(and even spoke with) God. But there was a WAY to come to God, and Cain
side-stepped it. Cain approached improperly, not coming God's way, and he
missed. He was not accepted.
Note, by the way, that the issue was not "did Cain accept the Lord?". The
issue was "did the Lord accept Cain?".
And the answer was no.
Does it strike you as harsh that God dealt with Cain in this manner? If
so,
think of this: God has ALWAYS required obedience of His followers, and He
is completely just to do so. For ultimately, the one
WAY that God made for
people to come to Him COST HIM EVERYTHING - the shed blood and life of His
one and only Son.
If Cain, or you or I or anyone, could just come to God on their own terms,
would that not diminish the value - the preciousness - of the blood of
Jesus? If someone professes to know and even worship "God", yet
in the
course of doing so bypasses the cross and the name of Jesus the Son, is this
not a futile denial of the very "God" they claim to seek?
"If you do well, will you not be accepted?"
So then, what do we do? "This is the work of God, that you believe
in Him
whom He sent" (Jesus Christ, John
who "do well" - that is, those who "believe in Him whom He
sent." All of
the strange fruit "of the ground" we can offer means nothing outside
of
faith in what God has offered - His own firstborn.
And I think the principle carries forth from there, through our lives as
Christians, and remains constant. All that we think, say, do... All
of it
should be to the glory of God by glorifying Jesus His Son - His Way. All
that is "accepted" by God is that which shines the light on Jesus in
righteousness, holiness, humility, etc.
So our sweet Lord Jesus really is someone important, no?
May the Lord bless all those who "do well" (see above), and may He
empower
all of us to do so.
In Jesus, looking for His glorious appearing,
Pastor Lou