Because He Cares For You

The word has been sterilized by overuse. We have lawn care, pet care, elder care, automotive care, hair care, and health care. And those are just the offerings that scream from the sideline of Dallas Central artery. There's so much care in the air that when we hear that God cares for us, we sometimes react with a bored, heard-it-all before shrug.

Yet scripture teaches us in poetry, prose, and proverb that the abiding story of humanity is God caring for His people. From that eerily quiet morning in Eden to the descent of the New Jerusalem, God's Word proclaims God's care for His vice-regents. That central truth plays out throughout history, and throughout the individual lives that make up history. Remember Abraham and Joseph. Think about Moses and Daniel and Job. Hear Paul and Peter and Mary and Martha recount the experiences of God's care for them.

In the grand sweep of God's dealings with mankind, He has shown His care in three profound ways. God's care for His people is powerful. He rules His creation for His glory and our good. And that good can be felt in a caressing breeze or heard in the whisper of a summer rain. Sometime just think about the amazing gift you enjoy when the sweet tang of the orange moistens your mouth. And that's to say nothing of the defeat of Egypt or Assyria or Babylon or Rome. It's to say everything about the defeat of death. God cares powerfully.

God's care for His people is personal. Do you remember the story of Samuel? A little kid asleep in the temple heard God Almighty call him by name. He called Samuel by his name. You see, God could be powerful, like an earthly ruler, who cares deeply for people but doesn't know them at all. But that's not God's way. Jesus spoke forthrightly about our Heavenly Father caring for us in personal, intimate detail. He knows you and cares for you—by name.

Finally, God's care for you is present. Think of all the times in the Bible when God declares that He will be with His people. And that's amazing, isn't it? Because God's care could be powerful, and even personal, and still be aloof. But God traveled with Abraham and Moses. God stayed with Job in his struggle. God came to a cattle barn in a backwater town to be with the sinners whose souls He would rescue.

It is God's very character to care powerfully and personally and presently for His people. And for those who are in Christ Jesus, that is God's eternal, here-and-now promise "because He cares for you."