2-13-2016

        Good Morning All!!       

         Genesis 4:9; “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?”

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

This is the chorus to a song by Bill Withers entitled “Lean on Me”.

    We keep an eye out.  Many years ago we had a huge blizzard.  It lasted a few days and left us with over 20 inches of snow when it was done.  One of the first things we did was to ride our snowmobiles around to check on the neighbors.  Perhaps you have that one neighbor who might be a little older or just living alone that you keep track of.   Perhaps it is a relative that you check on.   Many of us look in or check up on some friends and relatives.  These are the ones we love but sometimes we like to think that this person or that person is “just on their own.”

   We tend to pick and choose.  We love the ones we love and the ones we do not love; well, someone else can worry about them.  We tend to take care of our own and we may even look at this verse and think, I am my brother’s keeper.  The problem is that we have too narrow a definition of brother.

    When Jesus was teaching his disciples, he greatly expanded the definition of neighbor and brother.  In fact, these two basically merge.  Our neighbor is every person we meet and our brother is every fellow believer.  We are to be the keeper, the caretaker, for everyone we meet especially those who are in need.  Whenever someone has a need, we should be prepared to respond and to bring aid, comfort and hope. 

    This is what brings us to what God originally designed us for, caring for the entire creation.  We are to care for all of God’s creation and we are part of the creation.  You are part of the creation and I am part of the creation.  We are to help care for the creation, to be of service to God and our fellow man to improve life within the creation.  We do this best by elevating our brothers up and by lifting up our neighbor. 

    We best serve our God when we serve our neighbors and brothers.  We best serve God when we care for those who are unable to care for themselves and in need of our care.  We are called by God to share his love with all people; let’s start today.

Father of all grace; lead me to share your love with all people.  Lead me to care for my brother and my neighbor.  Break my heart when they suffering any way.  Show me the path of your righteousness and bring healing to this world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret