3rd Quarter: REST IN CHRIST
Lesson 1 *Living in a 24-7 Society*
Thursday: A Restless Wanderer
Text: [[Gen 4:12]] BSB
When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
Message
What is the cause of restlessness? Is it Poverty, riches, or greed? We find in scripture a man who became a restless wanderer, and his story offers us a great lesson. Cain was his name, the son of our first parents. As a result of his disregard for God’s word, his sacrifice wasn’t accepted, and the bitterness led him to kill his brother Abel. God told him what’ll become of him – a wanderer.
“Cain came before God with murmuring and infidelity in his heart in regard to the promised sacrifice and the necessity of the sacrificial offerings. His gift expressed no penitence for sin. He felt, as many now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting his salvation wholly to the atonement of the promised Saviour. He chose the course of self-dependence. He would come in his own merits.”
Of course Cain made great achievements. He built cities and established himself. He was industrious and lacked nothing, yet, he had no peace of mind – no rest. Here, we have a secret about rest. There’s a poor man who is satisfied in life and at peace with himself, and there’s a rich man with material possessions but has no rest. With all we’ve explored so far, we find that there’s a rest only God can give the soul, and until we surrender to his will, we’ll never experience it. But when one surrenders to God and accepts his pardon, the soul will enjoy heavenly rest even if suffering the greatest consequence of his sin. Neither poverty nor riches is a key to enjoying this rest. Whatever our lot, may we find joy and rest as we submit to our heavenly Father.
Reflection
Like Cain, there are many today who have built estates but still can’t boast of this true rest. Even if we end up suffering the consequences of our sins as we usually do, how can we learn to accept the forgiveness for them, offered us through the Cross?
