Divine Care

Divine Care

We are all a divine work of art. We are not like a sketch created by a child, but a creation of art done over our lifetime. Have you ever imagined yourself as a divine work of art? Who are you? What are you becoming? Who is the creator of your divine work of Art? In his book on “Problem of Pain”, C. S. Lewis says not metaphorically but in truth God is molding our hearts and minds to become a certain character. It is when we turn to Christ, when we give ourselves completely to Him, we begin to have our own true character. From the time of Adam and Eve we live in a fallen world and there is a never ending battle between good and evil being waged within us that extends to all of humankind all over the world. The famous theologian Jonathan Edwards says, “The strength of a good soldier of Jesus Christ appears in nothing more than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness and benevolence of his mind, amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behavior and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world.” Here this theologian succinctly says the character that we should strive for is holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of mind.

Our lives can get messy. We may not always know what life has in store for us tomorrow or five years down the line. How do we step forward with confidence in this uncertain world? We do so because of the blessed assurance of God’s unconditional love for us. The Psalm 137 is a poignant reminder of how the Israelites felt in captivity in Babylon. It is to these broken people that in Isaiah 49:15-16 the prophet asks, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Can she have no compassion for the child she has borne?” God’s love for us is greater than the love of a mother for the child she bore. Jesus wounded hands, remind us of the verse the prophet goes on to say, He has engraved us on the palm of his hands. We look at the nail pierced hands as it reaches out to all of us captive and free, big and small, rich and poor, young and old. Jesus said that God knows what we need. If we come to Him in prayer. He will give, just as parents give to their children (Matthew 7:7-12). We believe in a God who is loving, trustworthy, faithful, and powerful. All things are ultimately ordered and governed by God towards a divine purpose and plan (Romans 8:28). A God who is still on his throne. God has given us free will to make our own choices. He works with our good or evil deeds to make them all a part of His divine purpose and plan for His kingdom. We come to God with open empty hands to transform our hearts and make them into his gracious likeness.

Isn’t it amazing that God sent his only begotten son into this world when it was embroiled in turmoil and violence. The prophets foretold it; the faithful were anxiously awaiting it. God over the centuries prepared the nations for the coming of the Messiah.  To a chosen few God sent His angels to proclaim the Good news. At the time Christ was born, there was great joy in the hearts of those who understood the importance of his birth. It was the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God. Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 7:14) and said that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son, and He would be called “Immanuel”. Immanuel means “God with us”. Jesus said, God gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life (John 3:16). What a price Jesus had to pay to give us this gracious gift of eternal life. He suffered and died one of the cruelest and gruesome deaths nailed to the cross disgraced like a criminal. But he did so willingly and fully sure that, only through his death and resurrection can we all have the gift of eternal life. Do you struggle with the problem of pain and death? God molds us through our suffering and pain to become something that is in conflict with our natural selves. God refines us through periods of suffering to become an imitation of Christ himself. God’s divine care and mercy is so deep it is beyond our human understanding.

Jesus‘s birth has been shrouded in mystery.  It never ceases to amaze us, that if we look at the birth and life of Jesus, it is awesome that God chose Mary an ordinary young girl and Joseph a humble poor carpenter to be the parents of his son Jesus. When Mary told her fiancé Joseph that she was carrying a child, he was flabbergasted. He may have wondered what a mess their lives had become. His natural instinct was to question whose child it was? Seeing Joseph’s dilemma God sent an angel in a dream (Matthew 1:20) to instruct him to take Mary as his wife. The angel proclaimed that Mary was carrying the Messiah. If God had not intervened at that right time, would Joseph have abandoned Mary? She may have been stoned to death as required by the Jewish law for conceiving a child outside wedlock. Yet we see a man of good character, listen to the angel and obey God’s will no matter what the consequences. The holy couple were under the divine care of God who works for the good of those who love him and follow him.

God’s Son was born in a stable; the poorest and maybe even the dirtiest place for the Messaiah to be born. The Savior of the world was placed in a lowly manger, a crib for feeding cattle. God chose to reveal the Good news to poor shepherds who were awake with their flock at night. The poorest of the community of believers, often considered as out casts and unclean, came rejoicing to welcome and worship the Savior. Their presence and message of joy from the angel, welcoming the Messiah must have filled Mary’s heart with great joy that God had sent these men to welcome her child when there was no family or friends around to witness his birth. Wasn’t this an affirmation that God did not care whether you were a poor shepherd from the fields nearby or a wise man from the Far East, the good-news was for the whole world. They were under the divine care of God who surprised them with joy with two entirely different types of visitors.

Mary and Joseph lived at a time when Roman rule was heavily resting upon the Jews. Although Herod was their king, they were still overshadowed by the presence of Romans all over the kingdom. It was a difficult time in their history when they did not have any independence. Herod was quite a tyrannical ruler and levied a heavy burden of tax upon the people. Further when he heard that a King had been born in Bethlehem he was overcome with jealousy. He even tried to find out the whereabouts of the child from the wise men (Matthew2:1-12). Although he feigned a desire to worship the child, he in actuality wanted to have Him killed. The wisemen were overjoyed when they finally found the baby Jesus and they gave him treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The holy couple were under the divine care of a God who showered them with blessings and protected them from the evil shadow of death cast by Herod.

At the time of Christ’s birth there was great joy, but also great tragedy. When Herod realized that the wise men had left without informing him where the child was, he decreed that all boys below the age of two be put to death in Bethlehem and its vicinity. The whole of Bethlehem was thrown into chaos and confusion as Jewish parents lost their babies and young children due to the birth of the Messiah. In midst of these dangerous times, an angel of the Lord appeared before Joseph in a dream and told him to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23). Joseph took his family to find refuge in Egypt, the same country that the Israelites had fled from thousands of years earlier. Here again God’s hand led them from the dangers of the tyranny of Herod to safety. When Herod died an angel of the Lord appeared again to Joseph and told him to return to Nazareth in Israel. They were under the divine care of a God who brought them safely back to Israel.

Does God really care? There are so many times we feel empty and forgotten, by family and friends. God seems so far away. If we open the eyes of our hearts, we see God is by our side, he watches over us, he knows our needs, and discerns our thoughts. Do you find life a struggle? Are you pessimistic about your future? God will help us and protect us in times of trouble (Psalm 115:9-11). We build our faith, hope and love for God praising Him through all the twists and turns in our life (Psalm 115:18). Let us continue to live in hope to see fresh revelations of God’s kindness, goodness and mercy. Our life today in reality is only the beginning to God’s divine plan to give us eternal life, where there will be no evil, sickness or death. In Psalm 115:14 the Psalmists says the Lord assures us that he will richly bless us and our children. What an amazing promise to build our faith.  God has entrusted our children into our care, and we have a responsibility to love them, nourish them, and ensure that they are well prepared to face the world when they grow up. It is in nurturing and raising our children do we begin to understand how much God loves us and cares for us. They are the works of our hands upon whom the favor of the Lord rests (Psalm 90:17). God our Father will guide and help us and this is the promise we pass on to our children and grandchildren. Jesus said that to those who ask He will generously give the Holy Spirit to be a source of comfort and strength to all of us through out our earthly lives. Let us cast all our care and anxieties in Gods hands just as Mary and Joseph did when Jesus was born, for God’s love for us is marvelous and his care for us is divine.