Glory to God! As usual, the Lord has been good to us during the past week and, without a doubt, most us experienced His personal touch in our lives in one way or other. Despite all our rebelliousness and unfaithfulness towards God, He remained faithful to us and provided for our needs just like the Samaritan man who took care of the Jewish traveler who was robbed and wounded and left alone to die while he was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30-35). He still does everything for our good! Despite God’s continuous goodness towards us, many a time, many of us perhaps blamed Him, saying He is unjust or He is partial in His dealings with us. However, before we go any further, let us remember the fact that God is neither unjust nor partial to anyone regardless of who they are.

The Lord God has given us a blessed Scripture passage (Hebrews 6:10 [look above to read it]) for our SftW meditation this week. Very often we hear people say, I am in big trouble but nobody cares for me, even God has forgotten me. The fact is that when everything is fine with us we live a carefree life and we don’t care about anybody or anything other than our own existence, pleasure, and comfort.  But when things don’t go the way we thought or planned and we are unable to overcome the situation we are entangled in or we are not able to be successful in life, we begin to wear out ourselves and blame everyone who came across our life whom we know or heard about, including God. In such life-situations, naturally many of us put the blame on others and deal with people differently. We put on the wide and thick eye-glasses of assumptions and begin to blame everyone whom we can see through those glasses and we don’t even leave God from the blame game. As days go by, the things that used to be familiar to us are drastically changing faster than ever before; for instance, our society is changing, our life-style is changing, our dealings with family, friends and others are changing, our concepts about family and community are changing, the seasons and weather patterns are changing, and so on. The concept of family or community where people are supposed to live in groups and care for each other are slowly disappearing from among human societies across the world. In the past, most people cared for each other at least within the families and within the communities but in these days relationships are broken even within the families as in many families parents and children, and brother and brother, sister and sister disagree with one another and live separately. Once there were strong bonds which existed between person to person and people to people as well as between families and communities. Like the old saying states: ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ (it is believed to be an African proverb where the entire village community participated in raising children). Despite the increase of accessibility through public and private media systems (the main means of individual or mass communication), which supposed to help us connect with one another and stay close in relationships, many are becoming more and more isolated and individualistic than before those social medias came to exist. Many people in these days don’t care anymore for anyone else or anything else.  And this is affecting their so-called life-style and shaping their lives to be something different from what they used to be. As years pass by, such situations are not getting better but becoming worse and worse.

It is not only popular among secular people or so-called religious people the phrase ‘no one cares for me and even God doesn’t care for me’ but it is popular right among the Christian believers where many vaguely blame others and God saying, ‘no one cares for me and even God has forgotten me.’ Many a time, we might have personally heard from several Christian believers in our known circle, who label themselves as devoted followers of Christ, saying that no one cares for me and even God doesn’t care for me. Forget about others, how many times, knowingly or unknowingly, you and I might have repeated the same phrase that no one cares for me and even God doesn’t care for me. Definitely, there might be some who intentionally avoid some people (due to an existing personal problem between two of them or due to one’s own personal reasons or just like that avoided a person), but God does not avoid anyone for any reason, as God promised us that He doesn’t leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 13:5). If someone thinks that some people avoid them, it doesn’t mean that everyone else avoids that person. The person who avoided the other person just avoided that person and they are not thinking anything about it anymore, but the person who was avoided begins to think of all kinds of scenarios and begins to avoid not only that particular person or group who avoided the person but everyone else including those who are not even very familiar to them. Always keep in mind that everyone collectively does not avoid a particular person or group but there are one or two or a small group who may be avoiding them, and definitely not everyone who come across the person. If anyone thinks that someone is avoiding them, that person [knowingly or unknowingly] will slowly withdraw themselves from everyone else and every activity that goes on around them and may go into isolation, which triggers anger and anxiety in them and gradually the person slips into melancholia. Believe it or not, the notion of ‘no one cares for me and even God doesn’t care for me’ is a wrong concept that is developed within one’s own mind due to wild imaginations surrounding own’s life-situations. In fact, the actual problem is not with anyone else or with God, but with that particular person. For instance, if we are facing an unfavorable situations in our life due to a (some) reason(s) caused either by ourselves or by someone else, we look at everyone else and everything else from the perspective of the problem we face in our life and end up in imagining things from those perspectives and begin to treat people and things accordingly. If the situation happened in and around a good/pleasant manner, we deal with people and things from a positive perspective; and if the situation happened in and around a bad/hurtful manner, we deal with people and things from a negative perspective, which will end up leading to more troubles.

It is not only some of us who sometimes think that God doesn’t care for us, many individuals from the Bible also had similar vague unsureness. Although, there are numerous examples to highlight from the Scripture, let us make a note of just few selected examples here for our information, for instance: when the Israelites heard the report that their enemies are stronger than them from the spies (ten of them except Caleb and Joshua) Moses sent to spy the land of Canaan before its conquest (Numbers 13:31-33), instead of trusting in the God of their fathers who performed untold number of miracles in their sight including delivering them from the power of Pharaoh, they raised a loud cry, and the people wept and cried aloud, saying: If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:2b-3). From this we can understand that the Israelites did not trust fully God. On another occasion, when the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of the raiders of Midian, the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and greeted him, saying The Lord is with you, mighty warrior (Judges 6:12), Gideon responded, saying, Pardon me, my lord but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian (Judges 6:13). From Gideon’s statement we can understand that he thought that God doesn’t care for the Israelites anymore. Jesus’ disciples also had some doubts in the power of God’s provision when Jesus told them to provide food for a large crowd (about five thousand men, in addition to women and children) who attended His teaching in a remote place (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14). Also, many of Jesus’ disciples doubted when they first heard about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Matthew 28:17; Mark 16:11; Luke 24:11; John 20:24-25).

The above mentioned examples and similar ones that we see in the Holy Scriptures are recorded to teach us that God is not unjust and God does not show favoritism or partiality to anyone (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11). In fact, we are the ones who behave unjustly and show favoritism towards others and God. It is not God who separates us from Him but it is our sins that separate us from Him, as prophet Isaiah very clearly stated: Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). Yet, many a time you and I, being His so-called faithful followers, have doubted God’s love and compassion for us and wrongly blamed Him saying He is unjust and shows favoritism. The Scripture very clearly states that God is neither unjust nor shows favoritism towards anyone rather God will remember what people have done for His name and for others and reward them for their good works (Hebrews 6:10). God’s actions in this universe and in our own life prove that God is not unjust and God does not show favoritism to anyone but He rewards each person according to their deeds deserve (good or evil), as Apostle Paul stated:

God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:6-11).

Since God does not show any favoritism, whoever does good will receive good rewards, including eternal life; and whoever does wrong will reap its consequences, including eternal condemnation. The author of the book of Proverbs noted that The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death (Proverbs 10:16) and Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done (Proverbs 19:17). Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia saying Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Galatians 6:7-8). Paul stated again that Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism (Colossians 3:25). Jesus’ teachings in this regard is very important for everyone who claim to be His faithful followers: Jesus said,

*If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward (Matthew 10:42; also refer to Mark 9:41);

*Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked (Luke 6:35).

*Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).

It is very clear from the Scripture that The Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27). When Jesus returns, He will repay or reward each person according to what they have done during their life, as the glorified Christ spoke through Apostle John that Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done (Revelation 22:12).

Dear friends in the Lord, in the light of our meditation, let us know the reality that God’s calling in our lives includes:

1. 1. 1. trying ourselves to become the way we were originally created, which is in the image and likeness of God;
      2. preparing ourselves to become the likeness of Christ;
      3. preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God;
      4. teaching the righteous laws and decrees and commands the Lord God has given us;
      5. practically doing what the righteous laws and decrees commands us;
      6. preaching the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ; and
      7. reading, meditating, and teaching ourselves and others what the righteous laws and decrees commands us/them to do, which includes doing good to everyone near or far despite their social status, class, color, creed or anything as such.

When we do everything the Lord God commanded us to do, everything else will fall in its right place, as it is mentioned in the Scripture: Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). Then we will be able to understand the fact that God is neither unjust nor partial to anyone (good or bad) but He is good to all equally, as it is mentioned in the Scripture to Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34; also refer to Psalm 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1; 145:9; Lamentations 3:22-23). The author of Hebrews boldly states that God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them (Hebrews 6:10). The time for His return is fast approaching (Romans 13:11). Therefore, let us prepare ourselves to be taken with Him and be with Him where He is for the rest of our life, both here on earth and in eternity. Let us remove all negative thoughts (about God and everyone else) from our hearts and ask the Lord to purify us with the cleaning power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, the universe and all that are in the universe, including you and I, are created by God and, therefore, belong to Him, as it is mentioned in the Scripture: For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things (Romans 11:36a). It is high time to accept the fact that God is not unjust or partial to us as His promise to bless us is irrevocable, as Apostle Paul stated: For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!