Talking of Cain and Abel

I am not so good at evangelism. In my imagination I have the boldness and the things to say. But people never act their part prescribed by my imagination. And "people" includes me. So when at work yesterday I set down my book and almost heard God putting words into my head to open my mouth and say to the girl sitting there, I was quite surprised.

Talking to strangers is never so difficult after I've opened my mouth at first. She was wearing a head-covering, the kind girls wear in the Middle East. And I suppose that is where her family is from. She probably grew up in the United States. Right now she is in community college, having earned her diploma in a public high school. It is possible she knows the mainstream American culture better than I do. But she has a little bit of that cultural slant that comes from being Muslim. Whether she approves or disapproves, she is accustomed to their mindset.

I told her that I had been reading about the story of Cain and Abel, and did she know it? Muslims share some stories with Christians, so I was curious what she may have heard about it. Actually she encountered the story in public school, when they read East of Eden and studied its influences. She said that her class decided Cain was a pragmatist, and even though he may have been marked, was more likely to survive in the world, to do what worked for him. The world, they agreed, was more like Cain. He would expect what he found there, and know how to thrive. Abel, he is the kind of guy who tells everyone what they should do, and God likes a man who wants to do what is right. But people don't like prophets, so he would probably be shot.

And while most of my new friend's high school class though that was sad, she said it made her laugh. I think she was appreciating the irony.

But I asked her why God would let the world be that way, where those people who please Him are more likely to get shot. "I don't know; I guess god knows what he's thinking," she said.

That was the end of our conversation. I don't know what God was thinking having me bring up Cain and Abel with her, but I trust Him. No objections.

This morning I went searching for a quote by the Catholic, GK Chesterton. And on one of the sites the sidebar advertisement was for a Muslim matrimonial website. With the veil surrounding the face it is hard to tell, but the smiling woman on their ad looked a lot like my friend. What do you make of that?

To God be all glory.