AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?

      For people of faith, the Bible is a book of answers. In fact, it is THE book of answers because it provides direction and correction for our lives, hope for the future, and definitive information on God's nature and will for us. John Calvin called Scripture the "spectacles" of faith, noting that, while we can see God at work in nature and in the course of our lives, we see God most clearly in the Bible. I agree with this entirely. In a world where truth is relative, I need THE truth, and in a world which insists that one belief is a good as another, I need a Big God. I cling to my faith and my faith is shaped by God's word. However, for some time now, I've also been challenged by the Bible's Great Questions, and I've come to believe that struggling with these question deepens our faith and our relationship with God. There are scores of great questions in the Bible, but I will do well to cite those that speak to me: the first of which is AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER.
      You know the story. After Adam and Eve violated God's commandment, they were evicted from the garden of Eden and forced to eke out a living as farmers and keepers of sheep. Childbirth was now painful too, but Eve bore two sons- Abel, who became a sheep herder, and Cain, who became a farmer. Both of them also offered a measure of their blessings to God, but God liked Abel's offering better. It pleased Him more, and Cain became envious and resentful. His anger was sure to get the best of him, and it did. He lured his brother. Abel, into a field... and murdered  him there. Much later in time, Joseph's brothers would consider murdering him out of envy and resentment as well, but Cain went through with the deed... and killed his brother. I don't know how he expected to explain Abel's absence to his parents, but God intervened first... by asking Cain, "Where is Abel, thy brother?" Where is he? What happened to him? And Cain replied, "I know not, am I my brother's keeper?" Who made me responsible for Abel? How would I know where he is?
      Am I my brother's keeper? Well... am I? Who is my brother? And what does it mean to be a keeper? Well, the Hebrew word for "keeper" often means "overseer," as in keeping sheep. In the Old Testament, Israel's kings are called shepherds because they were expected to protect, care for, and guide the people. It was their responsibility to keep the people safe and to lead them to higher ground. Keepers were expected to watch over things- like the keeper of the royal wardrobes, or the keeper of the wine. There are many different examples of what it means to be a "keeper" in the Bible, but they all carry the notion of being responsible for the people/things assigned to them... and accountable to the one who gave them the responsibility. Thus, it is clear that we do have a responsibility to watch over and provide care to our "brothers."  But who are our brother's? Clearly, God is speaking about Cain's biological brother in this passage. What have you done to your brother- to your mother's other son? But the Bible also uses the term "brother" for more distant relatives (Gen. 13:8), fellow countrymen (Matt. 5:47), disciples (Matt. 25:40), people who share the same faith (Amos 1:9), colleagues (Ezra 3:2), people to whom we are attached (2 Sam. 1:26), and to all other people (Gen. 9:5).  Everyone, it seems, is our brother! My brother is my brother. People whom I love like a brother are my brothers. My uncles and cousins are my brothers. Fellow Americans... and fellow Presbyterians... are my brothers. Every man, woman, and child who has given his or her heart to Christ... is my brother. Indeed, since God has created all of us in His image, everyone in the world is my brother. I am connected to each of them and accountable to God for being their keeper!
      This doesn't mean that they are necessarily "right," or "good," but it does mean that I have an obligation to watch over them and to carry them, if I must. Abuse, discrimination, exploitation, bullying, and killings would be sharply reduced if we acted as one another's keeper! Billy Graham once noted that "the highest form of worship is unselfish Christian service," and I would say "amen" to that. James (1:17) noted that, "Religion which is pure and undefiled is to visit the orphan and the widow in their affliction," and I must say "amen" to that. Finally, in what I call the Bible's great open-book test, Jesus invited his followers into his Father's kingdom... because they fed him when he was hungry, clothed him when he was naked, and gave him something to drink when he was thirsty. (Matt. 25) They saw him as brother when he appeared as the least among them... and they acted as if they were his keeper! Let those who have ears... hear.