Genesis 4:9 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Am I my brother’s keeper? How often do we ask ourselves that question? I suspect if you are like me, the answer is not often enough. Better yet, how often do we live out the affirmative to that question? Christ came into this world on behalf of every sinner. He is our adoptive brother. He showed us what the answer is, because He is His brother’s keeper. That is how He lived His life here, and that is how He continues to be a part of our lives today. So are we our Brother’s keeper? When we walk by a group of people, and they are spreading lies, and unfounded gossip…..are we our brother’s keeper? Do we step in and take up for the unrepresented? When we see others wronged, and have the connections, and the knowledge to make things right, are we our brother’s keeper? Suddenly that phrase carries a lot of weight. We have to look out for each other, we have to take care of each other. That goes well beyond taking care of those select people that we like. It goes for each and every person that draws a breath, could you imagine Christ bypassing the leper, leaving the blind in darkness, condemning the whore, or leaving the man stuck on his mat? Of course not! Now here is the crux of the problem for us. While Christ is still very active in our lives……he is no longer physically present here on this Earth…..guess what? That means that we are His proxies. We were given the signet ring, we are the physical body of Christ. We will not be perfect like He is, we will struggle, stumble and we will bicker among ourselves, unlike He did……but If we cannot imagine Christ turning His back on the unloved, the uncared for, the unspoken for, and the unrepresented masses……then just by simple logic we cannot imagine ourselves turning our backs on them! Feel overwhelmed yet?! It is a huge task, but the Lord trust in us….yes He does trust in you! We know the harvest is plenty but the workers are few! We are our brother’s keeper, We are the change that so many are seeking, we are the body of Christ! Where is your brother?
I want to leave you with a prayer that was written by a lady in a prayer group for our school. It is a prayer for each of us, and I pray that the world never has to ask is we are our brother’s keeper, I pray that the answer will be as simple as looking at our lives.
"We confess that, like the early disciples, we struggle to grasp the ways of the Kingdom that Jesus taught. Shaped by the thinking and values of our culture, we fail to see others as you see them. We easily brush them aside as having no value or significance. Carrying our own deep-seated shame, we cling to those things that we think will give us standing in the eyes of others...Create within us your servant heart that we might love and serve others with your compassion and grace."
Amen!
God Bless,
Brian Thetford
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www.thenewcovenantchurch.com
www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com
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