PK’s Ponderings
Letter to a Younger Brother, and to
Each of Us
Recently, I have just
finished a marvelous book, My Brother’s
Keeper, by James W. Alexander, published by Solid Ground Christian
Books. It is a series of letters written
by an older brother to a younger brother (10+ years old) after the older
brother had moved out of the house. The
book was originally published in 1838 and is extremely relevant to children
today, and revealing as to the laxity of our modern form of Christianity.
As stated in the
preface, the letters were intended to reach younger men at an age before their
habits were fully formed, and from a biblical perspective covered subjects such
as the Scriptures, recreation, gratitude for parents, school work, friendships,
benevolence, prayer and more. The 21
chapters are absolutely rock solid and wonderfully convicting. Though I am approaching my 40th
birthday, I was convicted often, and found myself a riveted student to the
advice given to 10 year olds. I’m sure I
will be reading this book to the children in daily devotions.
The following is a
reprinting of the last chapter of the book to help you gain an appreciation for
the flavor of the whole.
My dear brother,
There are many things to which it is right for you
to attend, but there is one thing which is important above all others. It is the salvation of your soul. Learning is good,
but if you should get all the learning possible, it would only make you
miserable, if you were cast into hell. And so it is with every thing else. If, through the blessing of God, you finally
get to heaven, it will be infinitely well with you, even if you have been poor
and despised, wretched and ignorant.
You know I do not wish you to neglect your
learning, but I am very much afraid you will neglect eternal things. This is the true learning; this is eternal
life, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. (John
17:3) This is what the Bible calls
wisdom. A man may be very learned in
worldly things and yet be very foolish.
What can be more foolish than to give away eternal joy, to gain a few
years of pleasure? This is what many
worldly-wise men are doing. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
(Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs
I am afraid, my dear brother, that you do not think
of this as much as you should. I fear
that you push away the thought, even when it comes into your mind. This is very dangerous. You may thus harden your heart till it
becomes altogether unfeeling. When you
turn away your thoughts from religion, you are turning away from God and from
Christ. If the Lord Jesus Christ were to
come in to the house where you live, and show himself to
you, just as he did to his disciples at the
Perhaps you would say, “I cannot follow Christ now,
because I am too young.” Many boys say
so in their hearts. Christ says to them,
“Follow me,” just as really as if he were to come into your schoolroom, and
take you by the hand, and utter these words.
Perhaps you would say, “I cannot follow Christ now, because the boys
would laugh at me.” Ah, how wicked, how ungrateful is this! The wicked may indeed laugh at you if you
follow Jesus. So they laughed at the
disciples in olden times. Do you think
that the early Christians were free from ridicule? Not at all. They were mocked and scorned wherever they
went; and not merely mocked and scorned, they were pursued, imprisoned, and put
to death. You cannot follow Christ
unless you are willing to suffer for his sake.
Are you afraid of the laughter of silly boys and wicked men? Think of the blessed Redeemer. He was not afraid of this, but underwent it,
and a thousand times more, to save sinners.
People laughed at him. They
ridiculed him as the carpenter’s son.
They said he was a Samaritan, which was a name of reproach among the
Jews. They said he was mad. They charged him with having a devil. Even when he was working miracles, they
laughed at him with scorn. Yes, and when
he was hanging on the cross, in agony,
at the point of death, they wagged their heads at him, and made sport of his
blood and suffering. Think of this. This is what Jesus has done for us. And now he says, “Follow me.” He seems to show you his pierced hands and
feet, and to say, “My child, I have borne all this for sinners, and now all I
ask is that you should follow me.”
It is your duty, my dear brother, to give your
heart to God now; to believe now. There
is no good reason for waiting. All the
reasons which come into your mind to make you delay are wicked, selfish
rebellious excuses. Now is the accepted
time. (2 Corinthians 6:2) Tomorrow it
will be as hard to believe in Christ as it is today; perhaps much harder,
because, as I said, the heart becomes insensible when persons continue to
resist the Holy Spirit.
I pray that God would send his Holy Spirit down
from heaven, to create a clean heart in you, and to renew you. Your carnal heart is enmity against God, and
this is the reason why it is not subject to the law of God. Carnal hearts cannot be subject to the law. (Romans 8:7)
And though Christ is every day inviting you, yet you will not come unto
him, that you may have life. (John
5:40) If you grow up in this state of
blindness and impenitence, there is reason to fear that you will become so much
the servant of sin, that the evil one will lead you into some open crime. There is a blessed hope of everlasting life
given to true believers, and this is what I wish you to enjoy. Perhaps you may not live to be a man. Death sometimes approaches very suddenly. You saw the grave of a little boy not long
ago. He was as healthy, a few weeks
before his death, as you now are. He had
no thought that he was about to die, and now he is in eternity!
Come now, my dear brother, and join with me and
your Christian friends in seeking the Lord and calling upon him. “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon
him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
Make this the chief business of every day, to please God. When you rise in the morning, let your first
thought be that you have a soul to save.
All the day long, let the salvation of your soul be your principal concern. Other things may wait, without any
danger. Your plays and recreations may
wait; for if you live, you can attend to them as well hereafter. Your studies may wait, for a few days lost
may be regained by diligence. But the
soul’s concerns cannot wait. While you
are waiting, death is coming. Death is
nearer to you than when you began to read this letter. While you are putting off religion until
another day, you are so much nearer to the Day of Judgment. You are loitering and lingering but time does
not linger. And before the day comes on
which you mean to begin to seek the Lord’s face, your soul may be
tormented. O, my dear brother, attend
speedily to these warnings. All will be
well with you as soon as you are persuaded to follow Christ. Make choice of him – look – to him – come to
him – receive him – believe on him – and you will at once have the privilege of
being one of the sons of God. (Isaiah 45:22; John 1:12, 3:16, 18, 36; Acts
16:31; Matthew 11:28; John 6:35)
Go to some quiet, private place, and tell the Lord
in prayer, how great a sinner you have been, and mourn over your sin, and cry,
“God be merciful to me a sinner!” For
“if thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him; if thou seek him with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul.” (Luke 18:18; Deuteronomy 4:29) May God abundantly bless you!
Your affectionate brother - James
