The Sacred Call of Being a Keeper: What Scripture Teaches About Guardianship

The Sacred Call of Being a Keeper: What Scripture Teaches About Guardianship

By Rev. Daniel Matthews, M.Div.

January 12, 2025 at 09:00 AM

A keeper is someone who guards with fidelity, defensively preserves, protects from dangers, watches over, and attends with care. This biblical concept appears throughout Scripture, highlighting several key areas where we're called to be keepers.

Keepers of Our Hearts Scripture instructs us to keep our hearts with all vigilance (Proverbs 4:23). This involves:

  • Taking thoughts captive
  • Resisting temptations
  • Dwelling on truth
  • Pursuing righteousness
  • Nurturing God's Word
  • Keeping ourselves in God's love

Keepers of His Commands Being keepers of God's commands proves we know and love Him (John 14:15). We should:

  • Treasure His commandments
  • Meditate on them daily
  • Be doers, not just hearers
  • Weave them into daily life
  • Persevere in obedience

Book cover: Growing Together

Book cover: Growing Together

Keepers of Our Work We're called to be diligent keepers of our assigned tasks (Genesis 2:15), whether:

  • Housekeeping
  • Professional work
  • Ministry
  • Caregiving
  • Manual labor

Keepers of Others We are indeed our brothers' keepers, called to:

  • Protect others from spiritual danger
  • Provide accountability
  • Defend against falsehood
  • Care for those entrusted to us
  • Show Christ's love through service

Our Ultimate Keeper God is our perfect keeper (Psalm 121:5), who:

  • Keeps watch over our souls
  • Protects us from evil
  • Prevents us from stumbling
  • Keeps us firm to the end
  • Preserves us for Jesus Christ

In all our keeping work, we reflect the character of God, who faithfully keeps us as we seek to keep what He has entrusted to our care.

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