Yesterday, we had been talking about the time Kinya bought: a box of mikans for the Koriyama church and a second box for the Saito household. Emily had asked if he might not want to buy mikans for the family again. And he had gone out and done just that! Emily has been fighting a cold, so the vitamin C they contain will be perfect. When Emily came home, she was overjoyed to see the mikans in the basket (did she even notice the bananas?).
Cain must have been proud of his display: shiny, plump produce without scratches or imperfections. How could his brother's dead sheep be considered better? Abel had reminded him of what Mother had told them about the sacrificial lamb pointing to GOD'S perfect solution to our sin problem, but Cain thought altars were better for impressing God with himself (Cain)....
P.S.(I am not justifying a person's wanting to buy himself a boxful of fruit or saying it is the same as offering a sacrificial lamb! It's just that I noticed my banana buy had been motivated by a desire to boast, sadly akin to Cain's attitude.)
