City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

Genesis 4:8-12 (ESV)

¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:19-20 (ESV)

^19-20 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.

James 5:19-20 (MSG)

Aisha’s Analysis

Today’s scriptures show us the result of committing sin and remaining unrepentant: wandering from God. 

When Cain killed Abel, the Lord came to Cain and gave him an opportunity to come clean. Instead of confessing his sin to God, Cain tried to cover it up and justify himself before God saying, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). 

What’s interesting to note from the passage of Genesis 4 above is when Cain murdered his brother Abel, God confronted Cain. While sin causes separation from God, God seeks us out even in our sin and gives us a chance to repent. That’s how good our God is. God sought Cain out.

However, Cain abandoned the truth. As a result of his lack of repentance, Cain was cursed and could no longer cultivate the fields, thereby relegating him to become a wanderer. As a wanderer, Cain lost his purpose and fruitfulness in life. It’s a pretty bleak picture of what happens when you allow sin to derail your life.

James 5:19-20 offers a ray of hope for the wanderers out there: 

My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God

God doesn’t write off the wanderers–He wants us to go after them and restore them to faith.

Application

Have you wandered away from the truth or do you know someone who has? Don’t spend the rest of your life wandering away from God. Unearth the truth and come clean. While Abel’s blood cried out from the ground to incriminate Cain, Jesus’ blood cries out to completely cleanse us of all our transgressions. 

Whatever sin you or your friend has committed, it cannot stand against the cleansing, redeeming power of Christ’s finished work on the cross. Let that be an encouragement to you as you go out to restore the wandering souls out there. 

Prayer

Father God, forgive me for the ways in which I have wandered away from truth. I’m ready to embrace the truth no matter how ugly or painful it might be. I receive the redemption Christ has won for me and choose to walk in the truth that I am redeemed and set free from the power of sin and death. May I consistently walk in the holiness I have in You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.