James concluded his book with a simple
command, of which we should ask ourselves repeatedly: ‘Do I do it?’
“My
brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring
him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his
way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins,” (James
5:19-20).
When
the Lord asked Cain, after he had killed Abel, where Abel was, Cain asked in
Genesis 4:9: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In Matthew 18:12-14 Jesus told this
parable: “What do you think? If a
man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the
ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,
he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not
wander off. In the same
way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should
be lost.” This is immediately followed by this passage in verse fifteen: “If
your brother sins [against you], go and show him his fault, just between the
two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over,” which is
followed by the procedure to pursue should he not listen. Luke 17:3 tells us: “So
watch yourselves. If your brother
sins, rebuke him, and if he
repents, forgive him,” in Galatians 6:1 we read: “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently,” and 1 John
5:16 we read: “If anyone sees his brother
commit a sin that does not lead
to death, he should pray and God will give him life.”
We are our brothers’ and
sisters’ keepers. We depend on one another. Who of you have struggled with sin
that other people could have noticed and were completely on your own - nobody ever
talked with you about this sin, asking how they could help? Maybe nobody spoke
to you about your sin, but it could be that someone obeyed 1 John 5:16 and prayed
for you. Fact is we should care for one another. I always picture Jesus’
parable of the one lost sheep in my mind, seeing this shepherd struggling
through the rugged terrain, calling and looking for his lost sheep until he
finds it. It points to the effort and trouble we should take for the sake of
our family in Christ.
But how do we often
respond when we see someone sinning? Aren’t we scared that they may be offended
when we talk with them about their sin? How do we respond when someone talks with
us about our sin? Don’t we often have an attitude of ‘mind your own business’?
Maybe we have spoken to someone before and have been rejected and now we are
scared to do it. Why were these commands written in the Bible? Wasn’t it meant
to be obeyed? We were never promised that life as a Christian would be easy,
and are there to support one another and not to judge and reject one another.
Love demands that anybody who struggles with any form of sin should have the
liberty to approach any brother or sister in Christ and receive help and
support.
Many commands in the Bible
have a promise attached to it; if you do this you will receive this. These
commands, however, demands complete unselfishness. It is all about the lost
sheep. James didn’t mention any benefit for the helper, but he did mention
forgiveness and redemption for the one in trouble.
Ideally the church globally
should be interdependent. True love will leave the door open for any Christian
to approach any other Christian with problems and concerns without the fear of
ridicule, rejection and breach of confidentiality. Does it however work like
this within the church? You should judge for yourself within your own
community. Do Christians, who have known each other for a long time, sufficiently
serve one another in this way or do we let one another down when it comes to committed
care and confidentiality?
We need one another. Shall
we care for one another, for what we sow we shall reap?
Father, please help me to
be my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper with integrity and help me to accept help.
Thank you Lord that your Word went
out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you
empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which
you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may
benefit by it.
No comments:
Post a Comment