Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Job 6:14
Sisters and Brothers
When Cain was asked about where his brother Abel was, he asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper” (Gen 4:9), but the obvious answer was, “Yes, we are all our brother’s keeper” as Jesus said in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. One of the religious leaders asked the same question, “Who is my brother” (Luke 10:29) and Jesus replied that it was the one who helped…and that should be us.
If One Member Suffers
The Apostle Paul wrote something very profound concerning the church in 1st Corinthians 12:26 and wrote, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” What he is saying is we must share in the sufferings with others who suffer and rejoice with others when they have reason to rejoice. Either way, we are part and parcel with the Body of Christ, the church, and we share in the good and the bad things.
Interconnected
I hit my thumb not long ago when I was trying to put a nail into a wall to hang a picture, but instead of hitting the nail, I hit another nail…my thumbnail! That hurt. And did the rest of my body even care about what happened to my thumb? You bet it did because the rest of my body felt it. When my thumb hurt, so did my whole body, so when other members suffer, we should feel it too. That’s why we cannot withhold kindness from a friend and it would be even worse if we forsook them when they needed us.
The Body of Christ
The Bible describes the church as the Body of Christ because it has many working members which are each doing what God has called them to do. Not everyone can be the hand or the foot or the eye, but even if we’re in a place where no one notices that we’re serving God, God notices and that’s all that matters, because we’re not doing it to be seen by men but by Christ and for His church’s sake. We work for Christ for an audience of one; God!
Conclusion
The Book of Job, considered part of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature, stated correctly that “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty” (John 6:14), so when a friend needs help, we dare not forsake them because God has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5). By forsaking a friend we are really forsaking God and not fearing Him by doing what He commands. We are our brother and sister’s keeper.
