Translation from the Book

Ὁ Θεός στήν Παλαιά Διαθήκη, Βοήθημα Κατωτέρου Κατηχητικοῦ Α΄,

ἐκδ. «Χριστιανική Ἐλπίς» Ὀρθόδοξη Ἀδελφότητα, Θεσσαλονίκη 2015, σσ. 20-24

Genesis 4:1-15

  In some churches above the Beautiful Gate there is a big painted eye to remind us of a great truth, that God can see everything. Like a caring father, who carefully watches where his child goes and what does, God who is our heavenly father, doesn’t take His eyes off us. He watches us with all His love all the time.
  Cain, unfortunately, the first child of Adam and Eve, forgot this truth. If he had this in mind, he wouldn’t commit the terrible crime he did.
  One day Cain, who was a farmer, wanted to offer a sacrifice to God. He took some of the fruits he had gathered from his fields and burned them on an altar. Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, who was a shepherd, offered God a sacrifice, too. But he chose to sacrifice the best of his sheep.
  God saw the gifts of Abel with much joy. But Ηe didn’t care about Cain’s gifts. God doesn’t need our gifts. What He wants from us is to offer Him our heart. Cain offered Him, a sacrifice, but not with his heart. On the contrary, Abel loved God with his whole heart. And God knew it. He is omniscient and knows what every single heart hides within. That's why he didn’t like Cain’s gifts but he gladly accepted Abel’s gifts.
  Cain understood that God didn’t like his gifts and that made him very upset. But God spoke to him with fatherly love:
  - Why are you so sad? Why do you look so gloomy? Isn’t it your fault that you chose and offered gifts with a cold heart? Now, don’t worry. You can correct your mistake if you want to.
  Cain, however, put the blame on his brother, Abel, as if it were his fault. A thought was swirling in his mind: "Why God accepted Abel’s gifts and not mine?"
  One day he asked Abel to take a walk together. The kind-hearted and innocent Abel walked joyfully next to his brother. There was nothing evil in his mind. Cain, however, when they went far away and he was sure that no one would see him, attacked Abel as a wild beast and killed him!
  When he saw that his brother was dead, he was frightened. He didn't know what to do. He began to run in the wilderness to get away from his brother’s frozen body as fast as possible.
  But he heard God’s voice asking him:
  - Cain, where is your brother?
  And what did Cain answer? Listen to his cheeky answer:
  - How would I know? Am I the guardian of my brother?
  He wanted to hide his crime from God! Cain thought he was alone in the wilderness when he did his terrible act. He was wrong! He thought that no one saw it because no one was around. He was wrong! Cain forgot that Someone is always and everywhere present.
  God’s voice was now stricter to the murderer:
  - What have you done, Cain? Your brother΄s body cries out to me from the ground! From now on you will be cursed by the land that received your brother's blood! You will work on it and it will no longer yield its crops for you! In your entire life you will tremble and groan!
  God said these words to the murderer with pain because He never stopped loving him. God loves all of us and He wants our salvation and our happiness. When He saw Cain trembling from the fear of being killed for the murder he committed, He promised him that He wouldn’t let anyone hurt him.
  Even if Cain was no longer afraid of being killed, he spent his entire life full of guilt and remorse. The suffering face of the innocent Abel was continuously haunting him.

Under God’s gaze

  Cain could never imagine how tyrannical his life would become after his brother’s murder! Alone in the wilderness, in a single moment, he committed the terrible crime that made him miserable for the rest of his life!
  Was he alone in the wilderness? Yes, no man saw him. However, God saw him! If Cain had in mind this great truth, that God watches him, he wouldn’t commit this crime. "God watches me!" this thought would save him from the horrible sin.
  We should have this thought in mind too and it will prevent us from many mistakes. How can I do this evil before His eyes? How can I watch dirty videos on the television or the internet? How can I take something that is not mine or make sinful actions under the gaze of my God?
  Words, actions, thoughts ... Remember some of them: in the schoolyard with some schoolmates ... or in the isolated corner of the neighborhood with some friends... in the house with brothers or sisters... or during the night alone in front of the computer...
  The only thing that can save our five senses from sin, is our God’s sweet presence. If I see, hear, speak, think together with God, everything I do will be just and proper. I won't have guilt or remorse. I will have God’s grace! God bestows His grace upon all the people who are trying to stay away from what makes Him sad, from what stains their souls.
  Have you ever thought to spend your day like this? Then start with this thought: God watches me! Remind yourself this great truth all day long: I constantly live under my heavenly Father’s watchful eye! Try it and then all your life will be beautiful.

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