Lessons on Pruning from Cain & Abel

Pruning. It’s an ugly but necessary process. I’m brutal with hedge trimmers. Roy learned early in our marriage that if he wanted the shrubs only “shaped,” he should be the one to do it. If, however, he wanted them truly PRUNED, put those clippers in my hands!

Unfortunately, I’m not as brutal about pruning my commitments. Somehow, through the years, I drank the poisoned kool-aid that says I can snip off a leaf or twig here and graft in another full tree to my schedule. Picture my life with me. What started as a relatively stately oak now has an evergreen shooting out one side, a red maple on another, a giant sycamore pulling them all to the left, and a new little sapling on the very top. I’ve created this monstrous schedule of commitments, and I know pruning is in order.

But where do I start?

The oak is the very foundation of the tree. The evergreen provides color year-round, and the red maple is so beautiful in the Fall. And who could touch a gorgeous sycamore or a fledgling sapling just starting to grow? Aaaagh!

‘Tis the Season

When I lamented my need for pruning to my friend, Amanda, she reminded me I had the same complaints last year—at exactly this time of year. Perhaps the New Year is the time for us all to re-evaluate our schedules. It’s certainly the time the Lord chose to re-evaluate mine.

One day last week, I woke around 4 a.m. with the unmistakable conviction of the Holy Spirit saying it was time for pruning. So I got up, grabbed my ESV Bible Journal, and read my bite-sized Scripture for the day.

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.’ And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” Genesis 4:1-5 (emphasis mine)

What does this Scripture have to do with my over-committed schedule thousands of years later? Hear’s how the Lord unpacked it for me…

His Brother Abel

Did you notice how Eve gushed over her firstborn? “The Lord helped me get a man!” Can’t you picture her counting his fingers and toes, amazed that Elohim had let her partner with Him in the creative process?

But when Abel came along, he’s described as—Cain’s brother. No jubilant praise. Abel’s place in the family was defined by his relationship to the beloved firstborn.

Abel, Keeper of Sheep

We have no idea how many creatures God created for the first earth—before the Flood—but we know they were many and varied.

“And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so.” Genesis 1:24

They were divided into three categories:

1. Livestock
2. Creeping Things
3. Beasts of the Earth

Abel was given charge of the sheep. That’s it. That’s all. Why only the sheep? I was raised in rural Indiana, so I know a little bit about sheep. They’re dumb as a stump. They can be adorable and super sweet-natured, but they need to be monitored. Abel had to oversee the stupid sheep.

Cain, Worker of Ground

Cain, on the other hand, was given oversight of the ground. Think about the importance of “the ground” for a moment.

“When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature . . . And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food . . . Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens.” Genesis 2:5-7, 9, 19

God gave Cain responsibility for the precious ground, the very substance God used to create living creatures that breathed—beasts of the field, birds of the air, and even humans.

Cain’s Offering

But when it came time for Cain to worship Elohim, to offer back a portion of the blessings the Creator had given, the firstborn’s offering was a little . . . ummm, lacking.

“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.”  Genesis 4:3

We don’t know what was missing or unsatisfactory, we only know:

“For Cain and his offering [God] had no regard.” Genesis 4:5

Let’s look at Abel’s offering before we talk more about possible reasons for God’s response.

Abel’s Offering

Remember Abel’s stupid sheep? It may have been only sheep, but at least Adam and Eve’s second-born took time to offer Elohim his best.

“Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering.” Genesis 4:4 (emphasis mine)

Abel understood that the firstborn was cherished, and rather than fight it, he used that knowledge to praise the God who Created him—just as uniquely as his brother.

What About Pruning?

I hope you enjoyed my ponderings, but you may be asking yourself, “What in the world does this have to do with pruning your commitments, Mesu?”

Here’s a peek into my conversation with Jesus that morning. Do you write in your Bible? It’s how I communicate with my Father…

God’s message to me that morning was all about the GROUND Cain was given to tend and his half-hearted offering. Though we can’t know for sure WHY Cain gave the lack-luster offering, here are a few questions I considered during my early-morning conviction:

1. Was Cain overwhelmed at the enormity of his task? (Tending ground that had been cursed with thorns & thistles (3:18) to provide food for their family.)
2. Was his mind so distracted with activity that his heart had no room for relationship with the Creator?
3. Was he so enamored with the blessings of God (firstborn status, tending the prized ground) that the blessings became his gods—making his grip too tight on them to offer them back to Elohim?

2021 Pruned

2021 already promises significant pruning for both Roy and me. As of January 31^st, my sweet hubby will retire from his current position as headmaster of Grace Academy, giving us more time to travel together and care for family at a distance. This change happened rather suddenly and not exactly how we would have wished, but we see God’s fingerprints all over it. That gives us a huge sense of peace for our future.

My focus for ministry will be laser sharp on these three things:

1. Novel writing
2. Short stories (Patreon – writing FICTION only; no audio or devotionals)
3. Speaking (Book Clubs and limited events)

I want to be Abel, faithful with the few things God gives me. I don’t ever want to be so distracted by or enamored with the blessings—though there are soooo many—that my heart-felt offerings to Elohim suffer.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24

Today’s Questions:

• Is the Lord asking you to prune something from your commitments in 2021?
• Is there something in your world that is distracting you from a heart-felt relationship with your Creator?
• Have you allowed your blessings to become little gods that have stolen your affection from the God who gave them?