Saturday, June 15, 2019

Psalm 145:15,16 “Infinite Caring”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

15Eyes of all upon You wait and One giving to them their food in its time.
16One opening Your hand and One satisfying a desire to all of living.

My fairly literal translation is pretty rough. I grew up on the KJV, so, with a little modernizing, it comes out:

“The eyes of all wait upon You, O LORD, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”

These two simple little verses have been holding me in amazement. I have repeated to myself for years those words, “You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Every time we sit down to eat, it is the Lord who has actually provided the food. That is why we thank Him for it. I would suggest it is even some sort of a step of Christian growth to really realize that, to really believe it, and to learn to be grateful to Him for it.

However, it has never really struck me – “every living thing.” “The eyes of all wait upon You.” What does the rest of the Bible teach us? “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them… See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field…” (Matt.5:26-30). “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care” (Matt. 10:29).

Notice carefully, “your heavenly Father feeds them” and “how God clothes the grass of the field.” Notice that “not one” sparrow “will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” I could multiply other verses, but the Bible would have us know that it is God Himself who feeds birds and dresses flowers. Our God is aware of every single sparrow. “Every living thing!”

I have never really seen before this picture that the Lord is intimately aware of every living thing and carefully watching over them. He feeds them, He clothes them, He knows when they fall! That means that every second of every day, in His amazing infinity, He is aware of the needs of every living thing in our universe and lovingly caring for them – every single one, whether they are people or kangaroos or amoebas. Every living thing. Every single being to whom He has given life, He is watching over like a gardener tending to his plants.

He is so great, He can give to each one complete and total personal attention, even while doing the same for all others! The thought of it is completely mind-boggling. Of course He can do it – He’s God!

I guess I’ve always thought of it as if He set all of this in motion and it just happens. What is mean is like bacteria are constantly eating each other and multiplying. Certainly I have believed that God is aware of such things. Nothing escapes His omniscient, all seeing Eyes. Of course. I guess I just didn’t think He needed to be like personally involved in it. Yet that is exactly what the Bible would teach us. He is intimately involved with and watching over every single living thing in all the universe!

What we learn is that He is a faithful Creator! It is of course Him who gives life to every living thing. I’m sure we all believe that. But we must then realize that, having given them life, He goes on intimately concerned about each one!

I should insert that, obviously He allows them to die, He allows them to eat each other, He allows humans to be very cruel to each other and to animals, to get sick, to get hurt, to die. Someone may object, “That isn’t very loving, is it?” But of course that is very, very short-sighted. We live in a fallen world. We’re the ones who brought death and misery into this world, not God. What we must believe is that He is very lovingly, very kindly providing us with the very best possible care He can give – in our fallen world. And what is the greatest reproof to this objection? What does He give us when there is no sin? Heaven. Absolute, total, endless bliss in a world of gold streets and perfect peace. You see, He is quite capable of providing that for us now, but again, it’s our fault, not His, that our world is a place of pain and brokenness.

Back to His amazingness!

It is mind-boggling to think He cares for me like that – that He is intimately, personally, constantly hovering over me, so to speak, watching my every move, aware of my every need and desire – that He is doing it because that is who He is – the faithful Creator who guards over His every single creation, big or small.

While realizing this amazingness, I’ve also been pondering how this explains many things. This is precisely why each of us as parents has this driving compulsion in us to care for our children. Any decent person who has ever been a parent knows exactly what I’m talking about. Once a child is ours, our souls literally rise and fall on their happiness. Why is that? It is God-likeness! We are made in His image and so we automatically care intimately about our children – just like Him!

It is one of the pains of being the parent of an adult child – that I no longer can be the one “caring” for them. I see their needs. I see them hurting, doing without, suffering one way or another, and it just about kills me. With a small touch of God’s wisdom, I know most of the time I just have to let it go. I need to let them live their own lives. Even if I tried, I can’t fix their every trouble. But it still hurts. Now I really know why.

The same is true of plants and pets. Somewhere in Proverbs it says, “A good man is kind to his animals.” Why is that? Because they have come under his care and now, like God, he has this thing going on inside him that he doesn’t want them to suffer. He wants them to be happy and comfortable. Same with plants. There is a strange joy and satisfaction in planting something, watching it grow, tilling it, caring for it, and seeing it prosper. Actually it isn’t “strange” at all. It is God-likeness! The person who finds themselves “fussing” over their plants isn’t being “weird.” They’re being God-like.

This also only reinforces something I’ve been saying for years: “If you were the only person who ever lived, Jesus would still go to the Cross for you.” Yes, He would. Because that is who He is. He cares personally and intimately for every, single living thing He created. He cares for you just as if you were the only person who ever lived! No wonder it’s true that He died “not only for our sins, but also for the sins of all the world!”

What a completely amazing God He is!

I keep studying and He keeps amazing me.

May I be even more aware every day that it is Him who feeds and clothes me and gives me air to breathe. May I allow His faithful, caring heart to become mine too – that I might see others through His personal, intimate loving concern. I obviously can’t do what He does. I can’t care simultaneously for every living thing in an entire universe. But maybe I can learn to more genuinely care for those I can.

Wow. Infinite, caring concern.

“The eyes of all
 wait upon You,
O LORD,
and You give them their food in due season.
You open
Your hand
and satisfy
the desires
of every
living thing.”

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