Are you your brother’s keeper?
Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper. Geneses 4:9.
What do you truly think about when you are told that you are your brother’s keeper? When you realize by the word of God that we truly are responsible to one another.
We are in the family of God through our Lord Jesus. We are in the bloodline of Jesus Christ, and him crucified. So how can we say we don’t have to be our brother and sister’s keeper? It doesn’t mean that you have to babysit them. All God wants us to do is to be obedient to his word, to be there for our brothers and sisters by being accountable to them, and to keep each other in prayer. When they need us, we must make time for them however God sees fit. He will equip you to deliver what is required for you, brother and sister, at the hour, moment, and season that God sends you to them.
When a brother or a sister comes to you with a praise report, you are to be rejoicing with them, not become envious of them. When they come to you with sadness and loneliness, and they are hurting and crying, we are to cry with them, but make sure that we don’t let them stay in that rabbit hole. We need to uplift them with the word of God when it is time, but most of all, they might need a shoulder to cry on and ears to hear their heart. We don’t need to have something to say. Sometimes it is good for us to listen more than to say something. Ultimately, God’s strategic way of putting his children together is to bring glory unto his name. That means we are equipped, spirit-filled, and have the full armor of God to bring the supplies that our brothers and sisters need in their time of need.
In the word of God, it tells us, therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17. This goes for any situation or circumstance. Don’t forget, with God; it’s about people. So tell me, what does it mean to you to be a follower of Christ?
We are to show the love of God even when it is hard. Through Jesus, we can do all things. It is about God and not about us. Please remember that. It has been, and it will always be, about our Lord Jesus and him crucified. Remember that the greatest thing that can win people over is the love of God.
Brother’s keeper: means that it can be your ken, relative, same tribe, and group.
Jesus even said in the bible who is my mother, and who are my brothers? For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother. Matthew 12:48-50. He was not being disrespectful; he was telling us that the body of Christ is his true family.
It is so interesting how our siblings who have not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior are not our brothers and sisters. Our brothers and sisters are the children of God by the blood of Jesus. We were orphans, and our heavenly Father adopted us. The word of God says, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Ephesians 1:5. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation set apart.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12, 13.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19, 20.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10. The Bible tells us not to do anything to make our brothers or sisters stumble. Think about it: if we do anything contrary to God’s wants, and how we live, we must be conscious of our moves because it affects everyone. It is called the ripple effect. When we say I can do what I want, but not realize that if we see it in the
spiritual realm, we are hurting the ones around us because we are a part of one body, and that body is of Jesus, our Lord, and Savior.
Here is a great example of being your brothers and sisters’ keeper:
God showed this to me years ago. Please do not take it lightly when someone asks you to be a maid of honor, a best man, or even a godparent. This is the perfect example of being your brother and sister’s keeper. In an incident, if a couple is having problems in their marriage, the maid of honor or best man comes alongside the couple and becomes a wise council to bring focus on what is fact and true by the word of God. When a child loses their parents, the godparents are sanctioned to be the caregivers to that child or children as their parents. This is a high calling and responsibility. So next time, be careful when you get excited and jump at the chance of saying, I am going to be a godparent, best man, or maid of honor. Remember, there is a sacrifice of being your brother and sister’s keeper. You are emotionally, spiritually, and mentally tied with each other through Jesus Christ. This goes into a whole new level of maximization of being that keeper. What a keeper means is very simple, to keep guard and to protect.
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 1 John 3:11.
Two are better than one
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiasts 4:9-12.
Don’t we want someone to be at our side in the human world? God wants us to be together. He tells us don’t forsake the assembling of your brethren. Hebrews 10:25. He created us to have relationships with those assigned in our lives. You can’t trust anyone, but you can with God’s wisdom. You pray to your Heavenly Father for brothers or sisters of God to come into your life to make a positive difference, to be a voice of reason not only in your life, but; you do the same in their lives as well.
In the word of God, he tells us that he sent them out 2 by 2 to preach the word of God. Why would he do that? Simple, so we can be our brother’s keeper and be accountable to one another in times of trials, temptations, and seasons.
Love one another, for I have loved you. 1 John 23.
Let nothing be done through strife or vane glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than them self. Philippians 2:13.
This is what you call service for our Lord. Serving one another just as Jesus did when he was amongst us.