Am I my sibling’s (brother, sister) keeper?

Absolutely not! The conventional wisdom tells us to keep our nose out of other people’s business. From time to time we hear about a person who tried to be a Good Samaritan and was arrested with all kinds of charges leveled against him or her. If trying to help a person results in such charges, let me mind my own business and let other people do what they want to do.

But the people of God take their orders from God not from the society in which we live. In Ezekiel 33:7-20 God says: “son of man warn the wicked to turn from the wickedness . . . If he turns, God will forgive him. If you do not warn him, he will die in his sin and I will require his blood from you.” Straightforward words from God that help us overcome our reluctance to help people.

Further help from God’s word to overcome our reluctance is found in the word ‘wickedness’. Wicked people are not occasional traffic offenders, or drink too much at a wedding once in a great while, or speak a curse word in public once in a while. Wicked people are consistent in their wickedness without ever apologizing and not caring if anybody including themselves gets hurt by their wickedness. We warn such people realizing that if it were not by the grace of God we could be in the same position. We urge people to turn from their wickedness because God promises to forgive.

“Son of man” God calls us in order to encourage us to do what he tells us to do. That calls to mind that Jesus called himself the son of man who not only warned the wicked to turn from their ways and repent, but by his suffering and dying on the cross made it possible for people to repent and to be forgiven. Jesus suffered the punishment for the wickedness of all people, paid for it in full, died on the cross and then rose again on Easter Sunday so that every sinner, every wicked person, might know sin has been forgiven. And with the forgiveness of sin there comes the ability to turn from wickedness and live.

Jesus is everybody’s Good Samaritan. He has bound up the wounds of sin of every person. He carries every recovering person to a safe place. He has paid the cost for every person’s recovery. As you and I look to him on the cross we’re able to look at every other person as our brother or sister and encourage every person to pray: “for me, he died for me, O all atoning sacrifice I cling by faith to thee”.

Elmer Schiefer, Pastor Emeritus
elmer@myglobalemail.com
573-529-0584