Thought for Today
Genesis 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
Numbers 18:23 But the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear responsibility for their own offenses; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
To some extent every treaty, pact or alliance throughout history has resulted from someone’s answer to Cain’s question, “am I my brother's keeper?" To that same extent, many of the laws passed throughout history have also resulted from someone’s answer to Cain’s question, “am I my brother's keeper?"
Hopefully, you remember God’s answer in Genesis! “Genesis 4:10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.” I have always admired God’s patience and restraint. Most of us would have answered with something akin to “DUH!” God understood that Cain asked in guilt, but also may have truly asked in ignorance. At least Cain’s response was better than his father’s. In chapter 3 of Genesis, when confronted by God with Adam’s disobedience, Adam responded with "12 The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Adam essentially told God, ‘there are only 3 of us here, including you, God, and it wasn’t me!’
As a Christian, as a child of God, as one of God’s creatures, what is my responsibility to God and to all of the other children of God? Am I my brother’s keeper? Can I restrict my own understanding of ‘brother’ by limiting it to only my biological brother? If so, where does that leave my sister? Where does that leave our parents, aunts, uncles cousins, etc.? Are there limitations to my responsibilities to God and to neighbor? When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Jesus was consistent in his ministry and preaching about the extent of our responsibilities. When Jesus asked the rhetorical question, "Mark 3:33 Who are my mother and my brothers?" he answered his own question with, “35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
So, are there limitations; and, if so, what are those limitations? For whom am I responsible? Responsible to what degree? God never promised us the answers to the hard questions would be easy, simple and without any personal burden.
As a Christian, when I confront the world around me, I am sure and confident that we have not yet reached the state for which we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I see a lot going on all around me, in our nation, in my state and in my life and the lives of all around me, some of which seems incompatible with God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
How much of the burden, how much of the responsibility must I shoulder? I am a single individual, one of many in our nation and in our world. How many of the others are even aware of my existence? How many will I even ever encounter in my lifetime? I am not powerful, wealthy or from a prominent family. Taking all of that into account, how could I possibly be expected to be my brother’s keeper, much less my brothers’ keeper? Yet, try as I might (and do), I don’t find any loopholes, any ‘outs’ in Jesus’ words.
When it is all too much, I remember my own brother’s favorite song, Bridge Over Troubled Waters. If you don’t remember the lyrics, google them. When I am feeling small, defeated and discouraged, I remember the words of another Paul, “Ephesians 2:8 by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—" and I remember the words of the one in whom I do have that faith, “Matthew 28:20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Stay safe, have faith, remember we never walk alone, trust God,
Pastor Ray