Does God Care About Individuals?

When I hear about the single woman in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) who lives in a shack with her 9 children, my heart goes very easily to a place I used to live. It was a place where I thought that people must be just like pesky little ants to God. We believe that babies are a blessing and yet, I want to go take that mother to a doctor and stop her from having babies...for her sake and for the sake of those she has. I feel so overwhelmed that I don't want to care. I want to turn away and can easily imagine God wants to as well. That, however, is not what God does. 

As a mom, the most meaningful moments have been when my children choose to be with me, call me, know me. I remember the Valentine's day when the boys brought home 100 Grand candy bars for me. It meant so much that they exist and have the title of mom. 

I imagine our Father in Heaven feels the same way and this principle in borne out in the Scriptures. He wants us to know the real him, not just to know he exists. The miraculous thing is that He also knows us ... knows how many hairs we have on our head, knows our pains and knows our joys. Just as when I know the boys are spending time with me out of obligation and habit, versus by choice, God loves when we come to understand that He values us individually, more than anything, and we choose to be with him, get to know him, come to deeply understand his love for us and, in turn, fall in love with him. 

So this in Geovanni in 2004

when Andy, Cameron, and 21 other people from Mount of Olives came to the Ark 

to work and teach and love on about 50 kids living here. 

This is Geovanni today. He is a healthy, charismatic, and fun person. 

Can we believe that God cares about Geovanni when there are so many orphans and vulnerable children in the world? Is he just a pesky speck on the earth? 

Years ago an expert came to our church and taught about how differently the Greeks (our tradition in the west) and the Hebrews (of Biblical times) think. We greek thinkers think linear-ly while the Hebrew thinkers think more conceptually/holistically. 

There are gobs of people with seemingly unsurmountable problems and lives that seem to make no sense at all. On the other hand, there is a God who made them and loves each of them deeply. Can both possibly be true? A greek thinker (like myself) will often snap to the adamant decision of, 'No, if God was real, cared, and had a plan for people's lives, He would not let horrible circumstances happen like overpopulation and poverty." A hebrew thinker, on the other hand, can accept that both are true, simultaneously.

I am not an expert on the two ancient cultures or stances. This smattering of information has helped me, however. As I read scripture, I have come to be able to accept and know that there are many instances when two things are true at the same time that seem to conflict. When I give my heart time to absorb and pray about things that seem mutually exclusive, God often helps me come to a surprisingly firm place to stand, with each hand full of ideas and yet balanced. (I imagine Lady Justice.)

This is not always the most comfortable place for me to be and it is very difficult to discuss these things with people who have not chosen to know The Living God on His terms, but there are many who have come to that place of trust and conversations with them are ... one of my very favorite things in the world!

Thankfully, God has shown many in our generation that obligatory visits to a church on Sundays and rote prayers over food are not exactly the kind of relationship that warms the heart, just as being with a kid on a family day, not because he wants to be there but because he feels he has to, is a pretty ineffective and unsatisfying way to build a meaningful relationship.

Getting to know God through Scripture is challenging. His message is clear and simple however. We can choose to believe Jesus came to save us and that we can be completely made new and right with him by the simple act of accepting that gift by faith. Getting to know Him, on the other hand, takes a lifetime. We will not be happy with God all the time. We will struggle to understand Him and ourselves as we submit to Him. We will make mistakes, willfully turn away from him, everything that can happen in relationships with people happens in relationships with God.

When I pass from this life to the next, I want to fully recognize God because I got to know Him on his terms when I had the chance. The benefits are unspeakable now. I can't begin to imagine what it will be like to be with him face to face!

And yes, God loves and cherishes Geovanni. I'm so glad he gives us the chance to show that to him.