I heard a song on the radio about being "my brother’s keeper." It made me stop to reflect upon what that means. In the book of Genesis, when God asks Cain where his brother Abel was, Cain said (when he had murdered his brother), "I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?" Interestingly enough, God responded to Cain’s sarcastic remark with a statement that pretty much conveyed the idea that Cain was his brother’s keeper. To be your brother’s keeper means to be an advocate for your brother. As Christians we should be advocates for one another.
Christ goes a little bit farther when he extends the stewardship of our family to our neighbors. He talks about the Good Samaritan who lovingly cares for a wounded neighbor when no one else will. When the Samaritan man finds a man who has been beaten up, robbed, and left for dead, He binds his wounds, puts him on his donkey and takes him to a hotel where he pays an innkeeper to take care of the hurt man until he returns (Luke 10:30-37). This is the kind of love God shows us. He is impartial and infinitely good to us.
I know that for a lot people this concept is far from foreign. Many children take care of their disabled or elderly family members. Kind-hearted people donate to charities and volunteer their time for the less fortunate. But there are some people that don’t. The reason they don’t is sometimes because they weren’t shown God’s love by others — maybe their parents or spouses, even the church. This is why it is so important to give the love back that you’ve received. When someone shows kindness to someone else the person on the receiving end is often compelled to show love to yet another person. This creates a kind of a cycle where love is continually flowing throughout the world, sparked by small acts of kindness everywhere.
Regardless of our deservedness, God poured out an unfathomable amount of love out on the world when He sent Jesus. When Jesus forgave us our sins, we didn’t deserve it. But, like many people today who don’t know how to show love, we were locked in a cycle of sin, hate and disobedience. This cycle could only be broken by an act of love and redemption that would give us a gift we could not earn ourselves.
On the cross, Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One mocked Jesus and the other said, "Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus then said, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise," even though the man had not lived a good life (Luke 23:40-43 NIV). Jesus forgave him all his sins even though there was nothing he could do to repay him. The criminal was as good as dead until Jesus saved him.
What can we learn from Jesus? We are to show kindness to everyone — even those who don’t deserve it. God expected Cain to show kindness to his brother even though Cain hated him for having more of God’s favor. If we keep our hearts open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we, like the Good Samaritan, will be compelled to show love to our brothers, neighbors and sisters. We love others because God first loved us. Thank God for His awesome mercy and wondrous love He shows to all of creation.
