The Mark of Cain.

The Mark of Cain is not what we think.

We think it is a stigma for murdering his brother Abel out of jealousy.

But what the Bible actually says is this:

"And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him."  Genesis 4:15 (NRSV)

The temptation is to think of Abel as good and Cain as evil.

But God shows mercy to Cain and does not punish him.

This is because Cain's murder of Abel is out of jealousy.

And jealousy is fear.

It is fear of losing God's Love.

And we all have these fears.

God's mercy offends our sense of Natural Justice - reward for good and punishment for evil.

But were God to act in this way we would be condemning ourselves.

Because we all have these fears in our shadows.

And so God shows us mercy.

And we can forgive ourselves.

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