"Not as Cain - out of the evil [one] he was and he slew his brother. And for the sake of why did he slay him? Because the works of him were evil but those of his brother [were] righteous."
-NOT as Cain. The archetypical antagonist extraordinaire. The quintessential bad example. Bad boy. Bad apple? They usually don't fall far from the tree... Regardless, Cain did not live into this ideal of loving his brother. Just the opposite, in fact. He slew his brother. Struck him down him in cold blood. Ugh. He hated his brother. John's point is that in failing to LOVE his brother, he thus became the prototypical "child of the devil". He was not necessarily begotten by the devil in the strict sense, but his parents had sinned, he was born into sin, separated from God in his heart and born to instinctively choose what is not right, and as he grew older he increasingly aligned himself with the prince of this world and with all those who oppose God and what is right. Indeed, John just gave us the obvious characteristics of children of the evil one - they do not practice righteousness (they don't work hard at it), AND they do not love their brother, and Cain did neither.
-Darkness hates the light, it always has (John 3.20). Any whose heart is not right [towards God], whose hearts are proud and unsurrendered, are naturally more inclined to hate what is right (esp while my heart insists on staying in that place of proud defiance). We dislike and disrespect those who try to do what is right, who align themselves with righteousness. Have you ever noticed that? Think of all the ways in which the irreligious can tend to disparage [and try to dissuade] those whose heart is to try and do what is right. Goody-2-shoes. Do-gooder. Goody-goody. Rule-follower. Self-righteous. Holier-than-thou. Sanctimonious. Pious. Moralizing. Hypocritical. Full of hypocrites. Totally negative connotations, all. These folks, are they not simultaneously trying to prop up their own position while trying to tear down these others? Granted, there is too much sad truth to a charge of hypocrisy in the church - even those who try to practice what is right will continue to fall short. And of course the way forward is always one of humility. Often times the best we can do this side of glory is that when we do mess up we try to make it right. Ours ought not be the way of pretense and pretending that we have it all together. Far from it. Aligning ourselves with the light, with Jesus does not mean that we are perfect, only that we are forgiven.
-Though Cain was born into a state of disobedience and separation from the life of God - just like his brother - he had a choice. And we do not know exactly when he really went away from God in his heart. His parents had some kind of a relationship with the Lord. He and his brother were both "raised in the church". We see them both bringing offerings, at least going thru some motions of worship. And then we read that God did not accept Cain’s offering (Genesis 4.5). That passage does not state specifically what was wrong with Cain’s offering per se, but clearly his heart was not fully right. He responded in anger - towards the Lord AND towards his brother. It could be that Cain’s heart was not right leading up to this (whereas his bother’s heart was right), or perhaps he fully and finally went away in his heart after this time. But he was fully a child of the devil before he slew his brother. Murder did not make him a spiritual monster - that happened before, and is why he eventually did kill his brother. His anger waxed murderous. It is interesting to note that Cain, who was exiled because of his deeds, became an object lesson for Israel, a forerunner, if you will, in that Israel - God's "chosen people" - in the days of Jeremiah was guilty of all kinds of unrighteousness, including the shedding of innocent blood, and was similarly facing exile (cf Jeremiah 7.5-7). And as in the days of Jeremiah, so they were in John's day, in these days of the early church, (so-called) people of God hating their brothers. Living in anger towards their brothers and sisters. Friends, Jesus said anger doesn't just lead to murder, it is in fact tantamount to it (Matthew 5.21-22). It is just as heinous in God's economy, in God's family. The need of the hour, yes even in our day as well, is for God’s people to LOVE one another, to pursue it! To forbear with and to forgive one another, to pursue peace and things which make for building up one another, and to pursue righteousness together, no matter the cost. That's how family should roll. Surely this is not too difficult for the Lord! Surely this is what He wants, and what the world needs now. Surely His grace and His power are more than sufficient...!
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