The whole example of Jesus Christ, whom we call Master and Lord, lies in the direction of our being the keeper of our brother. For what was Jesus’ life but entire unselfishness? What was said of Him at his death that described Him–‘He saved others, himself he cannot save’. The very fact that there is a Christ at all means that there was one who cared for others, and the fact that our Lord became a man means that He loved His enemies and came here to rescue those who rebelled against His authority.
If we are selfish and think we can make our own going to heaven be the one end of our life, then we are not Christians. We may call Him Master and Lord, but we are not following Jesus Christ. Do you shed tears? Do you weep over Jerusalem? Tears are a poor thing if they are only for ourselves and never for others. You pray and agonize, but is your grief ever caused by bearing the burden of other men’s souls? Are you like Him, with whose name Gethsemane must ever be connected in our memories?
Even if we give our bodies to be burned, yet if we have not love for mankind, it profits us nothing. If Jesus were here now, what would He say to anyone who calls himself His disciple and yet never lifts his hand or moves his tongue to snatch the firebrand from the flame or save a sinner from the error of his ways? This is the way we must be our brothers’ keeper.
– C. H. Spurgeon