Our Brother's Keeper

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

(Galatians 6:2 ESV)

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” This is the question that Cain posed to God after murdering his brother, Abel. In this way, he was implying that his brother’s welfare was not his responsibility.

Although we may phrase it differently, we tend to think the same way. We say that our brother’s problems are none of our business. We tell ourselves that people need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. And we tell ourselves that we will not interfere in the lives of others.

However, as we see in the above verse, we are our brother’s keeper. His welfare is our responsibility. Paul tells us clearly that we are to bear one another’s burdens. 

What does this mean, to bear one another’s burdens? Thinking again of God’s question to Cain, it related to his brother’s physical state. And I believe that we  are to be concerned with our brother’s physical needs. 

We should be concerned with his health. We should be concerned about his ability to work and to provide for himself and his family. And we should do all that we can to ensure that his needs are provided for. As Martin Luther says in his explanation of the Seventh Commandment, we are to help him to improve and protect his property and living. 

However, that being said, the context of this passage speaks to our brother’s spiritual state. As we saw in the prior verse, if anyone is caught in any transgression, we are to restore him in a spirit of gentleness. If he has fallen into sin, that should concern us. If he’s turned from his faith in the Lord, that should concern us.

And not only are we to be concerned. We are to act on that concern. We are to reach out to him. We are to show him his need for repentance. We’re to faithfully proclaim to him the gospel in his time of need. And we are to be a support for him in his time of weakness.

We are, then, to get involved in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Their problems are our business. And by doing so, Paul says, we fulfill the law of Christ.

What is this law, to which he’s referring? It clearly refers to Jesus’ command, to love our neighbor as ourselves. It refers to his command to love one another as he has loved us. 

Loving our brother means being concerned for him. It means serving him sacrificially. And it means getting our hands dirty as we seek his welfare.