“To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend.” What is amazing is that the Word of God is full of God’s demonstration of His love and compassion. Many Christians read the Bible every day, yet they still seem not to understand what it means being a Christian. The first fruit a Christian should display as they walk with Christ, when their heart is regenerated, is love, not selfishness… and the first trait of character a Christian should display is sacrifice, not self-preservation (preservation of oneself)! My brothers, my sister, don’t you confess that Jesus is your protector? So, as Christians we should bear in mind that God will ask us what we did of our brothers and sisters we have abandoned. This passage speaks about the way we should treat our brothers, whether believer or not. Yes, when your brother or sister is wrong, the first thing you ought to show them is compassion and love. And when your brother or sister has sinned, you have the duty to earn them back first (Matthew 18:15-20). The problem with the church of today is that there is no more love, no more compassion. Everyone is there only for themselves, that’s why the Lord cannot act powerfully as He wished to, to transform our lives. What have you done of your brother, my friend? My friend, know that whenever you abandon your brother, God’s heart is grieving just like Jacob when his sons lied to him about Joseph’s death (Genesis 37:31-33). Look at the turn of events later on Genesis 44:32-33: now, when Joseph decided to keep Benjamin into slavery, because Judah did not want his father to be grieved again, he offered to become a slave in the place of Benjamin. You see his courageous and determined act of personal sacrifice touched the heart of Joseph, who then revealed himself to them because he was able to see that his brothers had indeed changed. A regenerated heart is a heart that knows what sacrifice means! What have you done of your brother, my friend? “Where is your brother?” That is the question the Lord asked Cain (Genesis 4:9)… and the Lord continued “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10)… My friends, God has not placed you where you are by chance, He has not given you the family you have by chance. Do you run away from your family because they are poor and you have made it? Do you run away from your sister or brother because they are living a life that does not match your convictions, whether spiritual or not? Do you run away because a brother or sister was standing and fell? Being a Christian is not a matter of personal convictions, it is a matter of sacrifice and living like Christ showed us, until the cross when He took the thief to Paradise with Him, just because the thief recognized who He was (Luke 23:42-43)… Jesus did not let him down; He did not judge Him; He did not give Him a lesson about how he should have lived to avoid being crucified… HE LOVED HIM. That’s what a Christian is meant to do… Love his brothers and sisters and lay down his life for them. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.
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