Cain’s question to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is a perennial one. Jesus had to deal with it as well when his blood relatives wanted to make a claim on him. His answer was expansive — everyone out there can be a brother and sister and mother to me, he said. The challenge that we all face is to have as broad an understanding of relationship as Jesus had. Instead of building a wall around the borders of our hearts, we understand that we are all in this together. Everyone is a child of God and thus deserving of my care and compassion. The circle of love ripples out like a rock in a pond. So the short answer to Cain is, “Yes, you are.”
