11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.REFLECTIONSWritten by David Koo and James DavidsonJesus commanded us not just to feel love for one another but also to love one another as an action. The world thinks love is just a feeling but the Bible makes it clear that love is also an action, as described in 1 Cor 13:4-8. Clearly, that's the kind of love Jesus showed us when he died for us on the cross and that's the kind of love we are to show one another.Notice there are 2 lessons we should learn from the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4.Don’t be like Cain in his hatred for his brother which caused him to murder him. God’s law against murder does not just prohibit murder, it prohibits what lies behind murder – hatred. We disobey God when we hate a fellow believer in our heart, even if we don’t say a word or do anything. Jesus taught the same thing in Matthew 5:21,22.Don’t be surprised when people in the unbelieving world hate us because we do what is right in God’s eyes. What were Cain’s evil actions, mentioned in v12? He ‘brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.’ (Genesis 4:3) So how is that evil? Because he didn’t bring it ‘by faith’ as Abel did - see Hebrews 11:4. Just as Cain hated Abel because his own actions were evil and Abel’s were righteous, so the unbelieving world will hate us because we do what’s right in God’s eyes. When you stand up for God on moral issues like abortion or sexual morality or euthanasia or on issues of justice, don’t be surprised if you get a backlash from some people. Your right living and words shows up their ungodly ones and pricks their conscience which is not comfortable.ABOUT THE AUTHORDavid and James are members of our Bossley Park Morning Service.