AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?

Ge 4:9 (NKJV)  Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Nine years ago a 13 year old boy was abducted from a bus stop in Australia. 

This week six witnesses have testified before a magistrate. 

• They have evidence which will probably lead to a criminal conviction for kidnapping and murder but they did nothing to help the boy escape at the time. 

• They only reported to the police weeks or months later, long after the boy had been killed.

• One man “told the Brisbane Magistrates Court that he saw a fight between a child and a man in the back of a car as he drove towards Caloundra.”

• A woman “said a man was punching down into the seat and a shoe kicked up defensively at the man. She wrote down the car's number plate but lost the piece of paper.”

• A man was waiting outside a shop when the 13 year old victim pleaded for help and told him his name, Daniel Morcombe. 

  • The kidnapper then caught the boy, spoke harshly to him and gave the witness a fierce look. The witness said he felt intimidated and did nothing. 

    • Months later he saw a missing person report and went to the police, months too late.

I am ashamed of my country, Australia, but looking around the world, if wonder if other countries are better.

The Bible speaks of a future time when the love of many will grow cold, when people will be self centred and hard hearted. This describes our time so well.

It seems for many people, life has become a spectator sport. 

• We read gossip magazines, watch TV for hours or browse the internet looking for entertainment.  

  Elite sports attracts bigger crowds and more money while more and more people in rich countries grow fat while they just watch.

• We feel uneasy about the rise of violence around us. TV programs about violence and killing are immensely popular, both fiction and true stories. 

• We watch and we feel stressed but we are spectators. 

• We have accepted the role of passive spectators of evil, so when we are actually confronted with the real thing, we behave like spectators.

Jesus has the answer. He taught about the Good Samaritan who rescued a man who had been beaten and robbed on a public road.

I am sad about the moral sickness of my country but I also wonder about many Christians. How much better are we who claim to believe in Jesus?

• I know Christians who visit brothels and help prostitutes escape from slavery. 

• Our church frequently goes out on the streets of the night club district to reach out to lost and dysfunctional people. I have tried to help homeless people myself.

However in the past I have sometimes felt frustrated in churches where the main focus of attention was church meetings for church members. 

• So many Christians are actually encouraged to be spectators in meetings where the musicians and preachers perform.

• I was once a willing church worker, going to meetings, doing little jobs and keeping the system going. 

• I went to prayer meetings which were so boring and predictable, praying for church activities. 

  • Then I realised I was too busy being a good church member and I was part of the problem.

There are people in need of rescuing all around us. 

• In my city between 15% and 20% of all psychiatric patients kill themselves less than 24 hours after being discharged from full time medical care.

What are we doing? What are you doing? What does God want you to do NOW?

2Co 6:2 (NLT)  For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

• If you have never committed your life to Jesus, the Son of God, today is your opportunity to be reconciled to God and to escape His judgement. 

  • But what if you are safe in your faith in Jesus and you are confident of your eternal future in heaven?

Who needs you today? 

• Who needs your words or deeds of love TODAY? 

• What can you do NOW?