Editorial—Care
Being the only son among five sisters in my family, I felt obligated to my parents to extend our family name to the next generation. This meant that I needed to have at least one son to "fulfill this obligation." So when my first child, a daughter, was born, I hoped I would have a son later. When my second daughter was born, I expected that the next baby would be a boy. We then adopted a third child—a daughter—but I prayed that the next child would be a boy. And finally, after my fourth daughter was born, I stopped hoping, I stopped expecting, I stopped praying for a son.
As a human being, I felt disappointed—not because I didn’t have a son, but because I had failed to meet my parents’ expectation to extend our family name. To comfort me in my unfortunate circumstance, a friend came to me and said, “Actually, you are the luckiest man in the world because you have four daughters. People say that if you have a son, you own him only until he gets married; but if you have a daughter, you own her forever.” I have found this to be so true. All my daughters are now married and have their own families, yet they still CARE for me. They always stay in touch with me; they call me from time to time; they always ask if I need anything, if I am OK with my life. They really CARE for me.
As I ponder the CARING acts of my daughters, I think of how much more our CARING God will do for His children. In Isaiah 46:4 He said, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (NIV). What an amazing promise and assurance! Has this promise been proven true?
Just recently a young woman told me about her experience of how God’s loving CARE was revealed in her life. One Sabbath morning she discovered that the only money remaining in her purse was five thousand Indonesian rupiahs. If she were to take public transportation to go to church, it would cost three thousand rupiahs. With the remaining two thousand, she could buy a chocolate bar for lunch. But if she were to spend all five thousand rupiahs for transportation and a chocolate bar, she would have no money left for offerings. Finally, she decided she would walk to the church and not buy a chocolate bar, so she could give an offering to the Lord. So that’s what she did.
That Sabbath afternoon, there was nothing in the kitchen for her to eat for lunch. She was hungry, so she spent the Sabbath with an empty stomach; but she was happy because she had given an offering to God. While thinking about her unfortunate life, someone unexpectedly came to her home and brought her some food. She ate the food with thanksgiving and gratitude in her heart. Today this young woman is no longer poor. She became a successful businesswoman, wealthy and prosperous. God truly blessed her financially because she had put God First in her life.
Ellen White wrote, “We are sustained every moment by God’s CARE, and upheld by His power. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and refreshing sleep. . . . He grants us the blessings of His grace. Above all else is the infinite gift of God’s dear Son, through whom flow all other blessings for this life and for the life to come.”—Counsels on Stewardship, p. 18 (emphasis supplied).
The lyrics of the third stanza of the hymn titled “God Will Take Care of You” read, “All you may need He will provide, God will take care of you; Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you. … Through every day, o’er all the way.”
Friends, if you put God First, you don’t need to be afraid of what will happen in your life, because He will take CARE of you!
Hiskia Missah
Editor
