What happens when we try to redefine good and evil on our own . . . when we live our lives “east of Eden”?
After observing the Fall of humanity in Genesis 3, we don’t have to wait long to see the effects on the human race. Cain–motivated by anger, jealousy, and fear–murders his brother Abel, and a disheartening trajectory is established.
When you read the story carefully, you’ll notice quite a few parallels with the Fall narrative (God’s questioning, the need to “rule” over desire, “cursed from the ground,” “ground” that begrudgingly yields its fruit, Cain’s being sent away from the presence of the Lord, etc.).
It paints a picture of a new, tarnished world, one where sin crouches at the door like a beast . . . where humanity’s fear leads to anger and jealousy and violence.
And yet it’s also one in which we can choose to “do well” and one in which God’s grace is accessible.
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