By J. Barry Vaughn
"Who is Asian?" asks one little girl. "Oh, he's the great lion," replies her Narnian friend.
"A lion!" the little girl exclaimed, "Is he tame?"
"Oh no, he's not tame, but he is good."
Sin is perpetual winter without Christmas, but being alive to God means being alive to adventure, being alive to Someone who is not tame or safe but who is good.
How we long for the winter in our hearts to yield to spring. How we long for the inner and outer turmoil in our lives to cease. Sometimes a green shoot does poke up through the snow, and sometimes we do find moments of peace. But the winter is long and the struggle is fierce. How do we put together the two parts of Paul's formula? How do we get from sin and death to being alive to God?
Advertisement
Let's go back a moment to the scene with which we began. Look again at the two figures in the mists. One of them bears a striking resemblance to a more illustrious relative. Look at how Abel seeks the wandering lamb, and how he cares for lame ones who hobble along behind.
It's in his eyes, though, that I see the resemblance most strongly. They are so full of laughter, joy, and compassion. I think that Abel must have resembled the One whom we call the Good Shepherd, whom the evangelist Luke called the Son of Adam -- Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus Himself is the bridge between the death of sin and the life of God. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." And Jesus offers us this life and reconciliation even when we play Cain to His Abel. The life and reconciliation which Jesus offers means that even Cain can be forgiven and find peace, and that is a word we all need to hear.
Do you have any Abels in your life? I do. Perhaps your Abel is a colleague or parent or child or spouse. I cannot assure you that coming to terms with someone else, or with yourself, or with God will be easy. It's a slow and arduous process, or so it has been in my life.
But it can be done -- not because I say that it can be done, but because God says it can be done.
You see, Jesus resembles Abel in one more important way. Abel went to his flock and offered the best that he had. Jesus offers His best, too. Jesus offers Himself to us.