Brother's Keeper?

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Thanks for stopping by Let's do Lunch with Lamar at First United Methodist church of West Monroe, Louisiana. Let us pray.

Lord, thank you so much for this time to be your hands and feet of grace and mercy, to all. At a time where we're on a global pandemic, may our hearts not be troubled because our hearts are with you. Lord may we be blessed in all things, not for our sake, but your glory. And it is in Christ we pray. Amen.

I want to thank you so much for the opportunity to spend just a few minutes with you over lunch. I want to encourage you to go back and to look at one of the oldest stores in the Bible, the story of Cain and Abel, a story of two brothers that ended in tragedy with one brother killing the other. And there's a question that comes along, a little dialogue.

God comes and says, "Well, where is your brother?" And the question comes back, "Am I my brother's keeper?" And the answer quite simply is, "Like it or not, yes, we are our brother's keepers." And in this time where we are trying to find as much toilet paper and hand sanitizer as we can, there may be a few lessons to learn from a simple question of where is your brother? And the answer being, am I my brother's keeper?

First thing we see is that God does pay attention to how we treat one another and how we value one another. For those that we love and those that we value, we know where they are. We know what's going on in their lives. And sometimes it can be easy to focus on me, mine and ours and ask yourself, am I my brother's keeper?

Maybe you don't need that last pack of toilet paper. Maybe you don't need that last pack of diapers. Maybe you don't need a 35th bottle of hand sanitizer. Keep in mind where your brother is, where your sister is during these times.

A second thing we see is that God is looking out for us in such a way that He knows our hearts. And He knows our hearts by the actions we take. Can it be said through our thoughts, through our words, through our deeds in this time both online and offline? Can we say that our hearts are with God? Can we say that our hearts are concerned with others? Can we say that we are indeed our brother's keeper?

And finally I want to ask you another question. Who is it that God is counting on you to keep? God has given each of us a distinct set of gifts, graces, and abilities to bless one another. Who is it that needs you to call them? Who is it that needs you to drop them a note? Who is it in this time of social distancing, that you could help with a store run or just sitting outside a nursing home window and being on the phone?

There are so many ways for us to keep our brothers and sisters. I want to challenge us all today to remember the answer to the question, am I my brother's keeper, is yes. I have made no mistake about it. You have the ability to so richly bless another.

Let us never forget to be our brother's keeper. And this my friends is the word that I share with you today in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy spirit, to the glory of God the father. Amen.