It wasn’t long after God’s where-are-you question to Adam and Eve that God asked a similar question of their first-born, Cain. This time God’s where-question followed the first murder, when Cain became envious of his younger brother, Abel, and lured him to a field and killed him.
Although his parents had fessed up to their offense, Cain lied when God asked him, “Where is your brother?” Not only did he deny knowing where Abel was, but he also flippantly threw a question back at God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
And just as his parents had been driven from the Garden of Eden, God exiled Cain from his home. Cain would now be a fugitive instead of a farmer, wandering outside the presence of God. However, God did cover Cain as he had his parents, they with animal skins and Cain with a protective mark to keep him safe from the attacks of others.
Where-are-you and where-is-your-brother are questions that we cannot separate. If we answer “walking with God” to the first, we must answer “walking with others” to the second. If we love God, we must love one another. Indeed, John tells us that the way we are identified as followers of Jesus is by our love for others.
Called to Be Keepers
As “keepers,” we are called to protect and nurture the body of Christ in many ways:
TO ENCOURAGE: "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13). TO SERVE: "Serve one another through love" (Galatians 5:13). TO CARRY BURDENS: "Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law" (Galatians 6:2). TO PRAY: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people" (1 Timothy 2:1). TO SPUR: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:24-25). TO BEAR FAILINGS: "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up" (Romans 15:1-2). TO BE GENEROUS: "Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help" (1 Peter 4:9-11).
Self-Focus vs. God-Focus
Anger and jealousy kept Cain from being Abel’s keeper–and destroyed both of their lives. Cain was focused only on himself, how he compared with his brother, and getting what he wanted.
We can put ourselves in the attitude of Cain when we, too, focus on the wrong things, don’t get what we expect, and develop a bitter spirit of anger, hatred, resentment, envy, and lack of forgiveness for others.
It is only as we shift our focus to God–to trust that his way is the best way–that we are free to be a keeper. It is only when we believe our needs will be met by God that we are free to love others, truly building them up and rejoicing in their gains. It is only when we believe that God, not other people, is in control of our lives that we don’t blame others for loss and are free to forgive them when they hurt us.
It is only when we focus on God instead of ourselves that we able to truly give of ourselves to others as true keepers.