February 25th, 2026
Wednesday, February 25
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
~ Genesis 4:10-12
_________________________________________
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
~ Genesis 4:10-12
_________________________________________
We are a restless people – always on the go, always striving. When people ask how life is, we say, “busy.” It seems that many people today are nervous when they’re not busy, even if the busyness is futile. It’s like we’re afraid of being alone with ourselves. It’s not a good place to be. And we all know it.
This restlessness is so inherent to our American culture that we really don’t know otherwise. Because of this, it is horribly difficult to break out of it. If we do, say, take a regular Sabbath and actually stop from our working and striving, we might be “left out,” or considered strange, even lazy. At the least, we’ll likely feel like we’re missing out or falling behind. Gotta keep up, right?
Where does this restlessness come from? We might blame technology, Western individualism, or the industrial revolution. But what if the problem goes back further? What if the problem is not environmental (part of our current place in history & culture)? What if the problem is theological, part of the human story of brokenness?
The events of Genesis 4 follow immediately after Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden. It’s a story of human opposition and physical death: Cain murders his brother Abel out of anger from comparing himself with his brother.
Because of the relational destruction from Cain’s anger, his life is a restless one defined by working without peace, striving and wandering for meaning. It’s all the result of relational brokenness: the triumph of one over another. Cain’s “punishment” is really God declaring what had led to his action against his brother: isolation, unrest, and human competition for significance. And this is effectively passed on to all of humanity – an extension of Adam & Eve’s rebellion. We’re all Cain now – restless wanderers seeking significance.
Prior to Cain’s opposition to his brother, and prior to Adam & Eve’s rebellion, there was relational peace and wholeness among humans and between humans and God. They had significance given in creation, and were settled, not restlessly wandering seeking meaning amid competition. Outside of that place of wholeness, human life is disconnected from relationship with God, and disconnected from right relationship with one another. And we become restless wanderers in broken relationships seeking meaning. Everyone for themselves.
Why do we strive so hard to make something of ourselves, working too many hours for what will basically amount to nothing when we die? Why are we restlessly seeking meaning in competition with others who are restless seeking meaning? Don’t you want rest from it all?
The solution is not to find what makes you happy as an individual or achieve the gold standard set by our over-competitive culture. The solution is to come home, to be restored to God and one another, where our meaning is not found in competition with others but in the rest of Christ gives:
This restlessness is so inherent to our American culture that we really don’t know otherwise. Because of this, it is horribly difficult to break out of it. If we do, say, take a regular Sabbath and actually stop from our working and striving, we might be “left out,” or considered strange, even lazy. At the least, we’ll likely feel like we’re missing out or falling behind. Gotta keep up, right?
Where does this restlessness come from? We might blame technology, Western individualism, or the industrial revolution. But what if the problem goes back further? What if the problem is not environmental (part of our current place in history & culture)? What if the problem is theological, part of the human story of brokenness?
The events of Genesis 4 follow immediately after Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden. It’s a story of human opposition and physical death: Cain murders his brother Abel out of anger from comparing himself with his brother.
Because of the relational destruction from Cain’s anger, his life is a restless one defined by working without peace, striving and wandering for meaning. It’s all the result of relational brokenness: the triumph of one over another. Cain’s “punishment” is really God declaring what had led to his action against his brother: isolation, unrest, and human competition for significance. And this is effectively passed on to all of humanity – an extension of Adam & Eve’s rebellion. We’re all Cain now – restless wanderers seeking significance.
Prior to Cain’s opposition to his brother, and prior to Adam & Eve’s rebellion, there was relational peace and wholeness among humans and between humans and God. They had significance given in creation, and were settled, not restlessly wandering seeking meaning amid competition. Outside of that place of wholeness, human life is disconnected from relationship with God, and disconnected from right relationship with one another. And we become restless wanderers in broken relationships seeking meaning. Everyone for themselves.
Why do we strive so hard to make something of ourselves, working too many hours for what will basically amount to nothing when we die? Why are we restlessly seeking meaning in competition with others who are restless seeking meaning? Don’t you want rest from it all?
The solution is not to find what makes you happy as an individual or achieve the gold standard set by our over-competitive culture. The solution is to come home, to be restored to God and one another, where our meaning is not found in competition with others but in the rest of Christ gives:
Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am humble and gentle in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
(Matthew 11:28-30)
Jesus’ yoke is not that of restless competitive work. It calls us home from our wandering. It is the way of rest that finds our meaning in Christ, not striving or comparing. Lent invites us again into this story, to face up to our striving and wandering, to come to our senses and turn around and come home. His rest is your peace in this life.
For reflection:
Prayer: God of rest, in Christ you invite us to find rest. By your Spirit, open our eyes to our restlessness, so that we might find rest in you. Amen.
- Read Luke 15:11-32 (Prodigal Son). The son had everything, yet he sent himself into wandering. He was restless when he didn’t need to be. Yet his father allowed him to go and welcomed him home. How has this been your experience?
- In what ways do you know the experience of restlessness in your life? How might your restlessness be related to competing for meaning in this world? What are you actually chasing after? What would rest look like for you?
- For those with kids: ask about times when they feel like they need to be “better” at something (sports, academics, popularity). Do they feel at rest when they’re seeking significance in this way? Remind them that Jesus doesn’t need them to compare, but to know they are significant as they are.
Prayer: God of rest, in Christ you invite us to find rest. By your Spirit, open our eyes to our restlessness, so that we might find rest in you. Amen.
No Comments