Let Jesus In and Be Like Him

July 19

Jesus stands as our example of holy anger that loves, restores, and worships.

Cain’s anger hated and killed.

The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:6-7).

Somewhere in the bushes outside our front door, sin is waiting. It looks harmless through the peephole, so we let it in. But it assaults us.

Cain didn’t shut the door in sin’s face, but let his envy welcome in anger, and his anger lash out in murder. Nothing about it looked like Jesus because Jesus’ anger was never sparked by hate.

Jesus raged in love.

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother… We know that we have passed from death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 Jn. 3:12, 14-15).

To not love like Jesus isn’t just hatred— it’s murder. Cain spilled blood and we spill hate and both are death.

But to be angry like Jesus is to slam the door on sin and open it wide to his love. Our holy anger will make way for the outcasts, restore what’s broken, and glorify our King.

He too stands on the doorstep, knocking gently (Rev. 3:20). To let him in is to be like him. And our dark, angry world needs to see the lamplight of that city on a hill.

To let him in is to be like him.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn. 1:7).