"Thy Brother … for whom Christ Died"

Consider these words, they occur twice in the New Testament, Romans 14:15, and 1 Corinthians 8:11, "Thy brother … for whom Christ died." Christ died that he might be thy brother, and that thou mightest be his brother. How are you treating him, as a brother or as a criminal? As one who should be welcomed to every family privilege, or as an alien, to be kept at a distance and treated with suspicion? Think of thy brother, as one for whom Christ died; only at that great cost could he be made a brother! He may be weak in the faith, and ignorant of much knowledge that has made you proud; he may be even — anything you care to call him, but Christ died for him. He could not have done more for him than that. What value the Lord has set on him! To die for him! Look at him from that standpoint, and you will neither think nor say, "Am I my brother's keeper?" That is the voice of the flesh, of Cain that was of the wicked one; the divine life within us rejoices in opportunities of serving Him, for we must love him for whom Christ died.