Have You Heard the Story of My Life?

My name is Cain. Have you heard of me before? Do you know anything about me? I was the first child born into the world. My father’s name was Adam and my mother’s was Eve.

When I was born, my parents were happy that God had given them a healthy son. They loved me very much and took good care of me.

I was not the only child born to my parents. Not very long after my birth, God gave them another son. They named him Abel.

After some years, when Abel grew older, we used to spend the days together playing games and having fun. Sometimes we would go with our father to the field and help him with his tiring work.

Every evening, my father and mother used to tell us about God, the Creator, His beautiful creation, and the lost Garden of Eden.

This paradise must have been wonderful beyond description: The trees were beautiful, the flowers were colourful, the water was clear and plentiful, and all the different animals lived together peacefully.

But the most wonderful thing of all was that God would often visit my parents in paradise and talk with them face to face. God had ordered my parents not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. How I wish they would have obeyed His command.

If they had listened to the All-Wise God, we would still be living in paradise. But since they disobeyed God, He drove them out of the garden and positioned an angel with a gleaming sword at the entrance, to keep them from ever coming in again.

So, because of their disobedience to God, my parents had to work hard and long just to have enough to live.

My parents taught us to pray to God and worship Him in reverence and love. They often warned us about Satan and his temptations. Satan’s aim is to tempt everyone to disobey God’s will. My father and mother experienced his evil personally. The Evil One tempts mankind with his words, trying to make us proud and disobedient to God.

Abel and I were born several years after my parents had been driven from paradise. After we had grown up into healthy young men, we too had to work hard like our father.

I chose to become a farmer, because working in the field is what I liked doing best. I enjoyed watching the wheat as it developed into golden stalks that were heavy with grain, ready for harvest. Pride filled my heart as I noticed my achievement in everything I did. I imagined that my success in farming was a result of my own experience and knowledge.

Abel, my brother, chose to become a shepherd. Every morning, he used to go out with his sheep to the wilderness, to find green pastures for them. His sheep followed him wherever he went. They provided him with milk to drink and warm wool for clothing.

Abel loved taking care of sheep, and after a short while, he had quite a large herd.

As Abel and I grew older, the differences between us became more clear. Abel loved and served God with all his heart and thanked Him for His many blessings.

In order to show his gratefulness to God, Abel built an altar with stones. He placed dry wood upon it, so that he could start a fire. He chose the best sheep from among his herd – one with no flaw – and offered it to God on the altar he had built.

Abel was filled with joy when God accepted his gift.

I also brought offerings to God, but I did not understand why I should thank God. Did I not grow the wheat myself? Did I not work hard to reap a big harvest?

I did not want my brother Abel to have a better relationship with God than I. So I gathered the best of my harvest and offered it to God on an altar I had built. But God saw that I did not really love Him with all my heart, so He did not accept my offering. I became angry and began to hate my brother.

I was very envious of my brother, because I thought God loved him more than me. But God warned me and said: Cain, why are you so angry? It is wrong for you to be angry. Love Me with all your heart and you will become as happy as your brother! Overcome the evil in your heart and be obedient to My Spirit!”

I did not listen to the Lord’s rebuke. I continued hating my brother. One day, I said to Abel, Come on, let’s go out to the field.

When we were alone, I started a fight with him. Then I hit him so hard that he fell to the ground and was dead! What I had done was terrible! My brother was dead, lying on the ground, covered with blood.

I was very afraid and quickly ran away. My fear grew worse and my conscience convicted me. I hoped that God had not seen my horrible deed. But He did see. He sees everything that happens on the earth.

All of a sudden, I heard the voice of the Lord calling me: Where is Abel, your brother? I tried to hide what I had done, saying: I don’t know where my brother Abel is. Am I my brother’s keeper?

But God answered: What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are cursed and are driven from the land. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops to you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.

This is exactly what happened. I ended up running away and roamed the earth without peace for the rest of my life.

What a shame it is that many people have made the same mistake as I. They strive with and despise one another. They do not find peace in their lives but continue hating, fighting, and killing.

Neither my brother nor I returned home that night. How worried my parents must have been. I heard later that God blessed them with other sons, and daughters too. The oldest of their children looked like my brother Abel. His name was Seth, and he loved God with all his heart.

My dear reader, have you learned something from the story of my life? All who choose to live far from God in a spirit of independence do not have peace. But whoever chooses to obey God and love Him with all his heart will experience His peace and blessings.