My Brother’s Keeper

“And Cain said to his brother, [a]Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.(A) And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And [the Lord] said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground,” Genesis 4:8-10, AMP.

One of the most familiar stories in the Bible is of Cain and Abel, the first two children of Adam and Eve. Due to God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering and rejection of Cain’s, jealousy rose up in Cain against his brother. Jealousy so callously rooted, it incited him to murder. How often does that still happen today?

Crimes are committed, but yet many say that we’re ALL God’s children. Where did that come from that we’re all God’s children? “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” John 1:12, KJV. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,” Romans 8:14, KJV. “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world,” Philippians 2:15, KJV. Notice the last scripture quoted, only the sons of God can shine as lights in the world. How can someone who rejects Him shine any kind of light? There is no light in him, only darkness. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not,” 1 John 3:1, KJV. So, anyone of the world does not know God, therefore, impossible to be His son.

Understanding that we’re not all God’s children, we who are His children hold an obligation of being one another’s keeper. When we see another doing well, we should not envy them. This is an opportunity to encourage. Notice what God said to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.” God knows all. When He asked Cain what he had done, He wasn’t asking because He didn’t know, He was asking because He wanted Cain to own up to what he had done. We are called to be honest about our actions. How can God forgive us if we never admit what we’ve done?

As humans, we are far from perfect, but love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). This means that once we begin loving one another, putting away covetousness, we can experience being perfected in love. Not that we will be become perfect, but that we are perfected. So, when someone needs a helping hand, don’t slap their hands away when you have it to give (Proverbs 3:28). Is that love? We must be willing to do His will. If God were to ask me, “Are you your brother’s keeper?” I want to answer with a pure heart, “Yes, yes I am.”