"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes,      

I owe him love and care;

The word of counsel and of cheer;

The power of earnest prayer.

When fierce temptation shakes his soul,

My strength should be his stay;

When flattering voices lure to sin,

My form should bar his way.

When sickness lays him low, my time,

My faithful ministries,

My health, my courage, all I have,

Should patiently be his.

And when his day of life grows dark,

And tears his eye bedim,

Mine is the heart to feel his grief,

To sympathize with him.

My brother’s keeper, then, am I;

O Christ, within me shine,

That mine may be the sacred joy

To help him to be Thine.

~ From Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

Thoughts About Katy's Brother

A few of Katy's thoughts about her brother James:

"I have often thought that she would be a rare woman who could win him; he is handsome and talented and attractive; everybody is fascinated by him, everybody caresses him; and yet he has turned his back on the world that has dealt so kindly with him and given himself, as Jonathan Edwards says, 'clean away to Christ!'" ~ Stepping Heavenward, January 1, 1842 entry

[So it's the latter half of this description which makes him a rare treasure, wouldn't you agree? ~ mr]