God Cares

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick

Several years ago our church sponsored a nation-wide multi-media advertising campaign. There were radio and TV spots, billboards, brochures and bumper stickers, all carrying the slogan, “Hurting? God Cares.” During that time, at a social reception, I happened to overhear a remark made by a stranger – his was a commentary on the bumper sticker he had seen on my car. Before I walked away, I only heard him say something like, “Right, God Cares, but we don’t!” For a moment the remark stung, but then I came to realize that there was a truth to be heard. In His first century letter to the churches under his care, James, the brother of Jesus warned about this same thing when he wrote, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?’” (James 2:15,16) The subject for today is an important one – “Care” - and we will discuss three aspects: The Proclivity to Care, The Problem with Care, and The Provision of Care. The Proclivity to Care To say there is a “proclivity to care” simply means that caring for others is something we all like to do. No one, Christian or not, would want themselves to be viewed as an uncaring member of society. As morbid as it may seem, think about your own funeral – when they get up to memorialize your finer qualities, wouldn’t you want it to be said, “He/she was a very caring person”? Of course for Christians, there’s a command to care, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” but we don’t do it out of the obligation of a law, but out of our new nature. Love is the primary fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and is spread by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:5) When the Nun of Calcutta, Mother Theresa, was still alive, she visited Boston where her order was opening a home for people with AIDS. Standing on the steps of this house which would provide care for people dying of the dreaded affliction, Mother Teresa was asked why she was doing this. In answering, she simply held up her left hand, and with the index of her right hand pointing at one finger at a time, she said, “You do it to me.” In so doing, this tiny woman who had become the human symbol of care for the needy, was referring to Jesus’ teaching when He said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) Perhaps the very first church to receive a letter from the Apostle Paul was the church of Thessalonica, a northern Greek city. Listen in on what Paul says to these earliest of Christians, “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.” (I Thessalonians 4: 9, 10) Reading the Bible, it seems that caring comes naturally. Paul himself demonstrated this in the care he had for the churches. “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (II Corinthians 11:28) Paul was the shepherd, and that’s what shepherds do naturally, they care for the sheep. This was no different than Jesus, the Great Shepherd, who “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) However, as humans created in the image of our Creator, we’re not like the animals who can only look to their shepherd for their care, we understand the value of mutual care, caring for one another – those who care are also cared for. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given to you” (Luke 6:38), and Paul added, ”Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2 – Please note that “law” here is not a legal matter, but much like the “law” of gravity is a force, so Christ in us an enablement.) In the church, some members are called upon to carry a heavy load, but there’s always someone nearby, a good brother or sister, ready to share the load. That’s why Paul, while writing to the churches always had something to say about this care: To the church at Rome, he wrote, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. . . . “ (Romans 15:1) His exhortation to the church of Corinth was this: “There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (I Corinthians 12:25) From his prison cell, Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: “Be kind and compassionate to one another. . . .” (Ephesians 4:32) And to the Colossian Christians, Pastor Paul wrote: “Clothe yourselves with compassion.” (Colossians 3:12) It is natural, i.e. second nature for Christians to care. However, that doesn’t mean care is care-free – care does has its problems. The Problem With Care Actually there are several problems with care. Misplaced care is when the concern is targeted towards things rather than people. These are the “cares of this life” that Jesus talked about in His parable of the sower (Luke 21:34), and we remember the warning given by John, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (I John 2:15) This is why it is so important that we are able to clearly identify, and even verbalize our priorities. When it relates to care, do you know how your priorities are arranged? Of course love for God comes first (Deuteronomy 6:5). If married, care for husbands and wives comes next (Ephesians 5:25), then care for the family (I Timothy 5:8), members of the family of God (Galatians 6:10) and the needy of this world (Matthew 25). However, for many contemporary Christians, the problem is not a problem of not caring enough, but the problem of knowing who to care for, when and how. Which leads to another problem with care, overextended care. This is when balance is lost, and because our own resources are not being renewed, we lose the ability to provide meaningful care for others. Often when the Lord breaks into a church service and provides a message in tongues with interpretation, the meaning is meant for the moment and is not remembered. However, one such message has stayed with me for many years. It was given in the prayer meeting prior to a choir concert, and it made this point, “You cannot only breathe out, you must also breath in.” A simple anatomical idea to be sure, but with spiritual implications – when we minister in a caring way to others, we must make sure we are also taking in nourishment for our own strength to be replenished. If we try to provide care for others when our own resources are depleted, both quantity and quality of our care will be affected; often resentment will begin to form, and the service will be grudgingly offered. That may be why Jesus phrased the second commandment this way, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) Care best comes from the overflow – when we take full responsibility to receive necessary care so that we are well physically, emotionally and spiritually, then we will be well suited to care for others. The third problem with care is that in the modern “information age,” one may easily become overwhelmed. We’ve become very familiar with the marvelous story we call “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10) . What a marvelous example of selfless care! The problem is, we now know that there are millions of people who have been beaten and robbed on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. There are just too many. Even as we need to be clear about our priorities, we also need to be honest about our resources and the limits placed on our care for others. Here’s a simple idea which has been visited before, but it may help us all understand better how to target our care. There are three circles in which we all operate and offer care. There’s the circle of concern, the circle of influence, and also, the circle of responsibility. The “Circle of Concern” may be as big as the world, and we express our care through prayer. The “Circle of Influence” is much smaller, and we may exercise our care by offering verbal support, or even financing those people and institutions which do have power to provide care. However, it is within the even smaller “Circle of Responsibility” where we become personally involved, offering time, physical touch and skill in caring for others who are experiencing a crisis, need or suffering. The last problem with care is that we have become wary of falling victim to the con artist, and the need they present is a play on our sympathy in order to get something other than what is stated. Recently a woman came with a plea for help to purchase a special formula for her baby grandson. She said it was only sold at the Pharmacy, and would cost nearly $20.00 for a supply which would last a couple of days. So I told her I’d be glad to call the Pharmacy, but she didn’t have the number, and wasn’t sure of the name of the street it was on. When I asked if she attended church, she said yes, a Pentecostal church and told me the name of the Pastor. When I said that I would like to call her Pastor, this alleged grandmother became very irate, and walked away angrily sputtering that that’s the trouble with people today, no one cares. I later learned that there were no babies at all living at the address she said was her house. On another occasion a man asked for help to pay for a plane ticket – he had just learned that his daughter, who lived with her mother in a distant state, had been killed in an auto accident. The man, showing me a check from another church for $100.00, said his brother had learned that he could get a ticket from Northwest Airlines for $140.00, so all he needed was the additional $40.00. However, when I called the airlines, I found that even with grief emergencies like this, a ticket would cost over $300.00. Still wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, I told the man to have his brother call me, which he never did. When we have experiences like this, we can get spooked, and not wanting to chase down rabbit trails, even when we do have resources to care, we withhold it out of fear. There are other problems with care such as care motivated by guilt, manipulated care, or even care offered only to receive a reward of some sort. The Provision of Care But now let’s return for a moment to the message of the bumper sticker, “Hurting? God Cares.” The question is, “Does He really care?” Can we expect the Creator of the Universe to be individually concerned with us personally, and offer direct and meaningful care? Or has He delegated the “care” function so that the only care we can expect is that which is offered on the human level? No, we can confidently assert with Peter, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7) Jesus especially emphasized this with a question he posed and answered Himself, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6,7) On another occasion, in a different use of the imagery of the bird, Jesus picked up an Old Testament idea to point out that God is like a mother bird who shows her care for her young by sheltering them under her wings. (Psalm 91:4; Matthew 23:37) A Gospel song that was popular a few decades ago, and even still occasionally sung today, is, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” The idea of the song was based on the blessing Moses pronounced on the Israelites just prior to his death, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27) The Psalmist also provides a comforting message of God’s personal care with his words, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” (Psalm 27:10) Often in our worship services, members of the congregation raise their hands as we sing or pray. Why do we do that? Perhaps for a number of reasons, but one that I especially like is that, even as a young child will approach their parent with hands stretched upward, so do we, as we approach our Heavenly Father. A college student whose father had abandoned the family when he was young, told me about the day when he was feeling really down because he missed his father so very much. In his depressed state, he closed the cellar door behind him and sat on the steps in the dark, and cried. Suddenly he felt warm pressure around his shoulders, as if a strong man was giving him a hug from behind. When the lad turned around to look, no one was there, and he realized that the Lord Himself had placed His arms around the lonely boy to provide security and comfort. Yes, the bumper sticker was right, “Hurting? God Cares.” In the 60’s, prolific Gospel songwriter, John W. Peterson, gave us this memorable song: "WHO CARES?" Who cares when the days are dreary? Who cares when I'm tired and weary? Jesus, my Lord and Savior cares; Who cares when I'm sad and lonely? Who cares when I've trouble only? Jesus, my Lord and Savior cares. There's not a dearer friend to me, He'll lead me on till His Face I see; Who cares when my heart is aching? Who cares when it's nearly breaking? Jesus, my Lord and Savior cares. Who cares when my friends forsake me? Who cares when the storms o'ertake me? Jesus, my Lord and Savior cares; Who cares when my hopes all crumble? Who cares when I fall and stumble? Jesus, my Lord and Savior cares. There's not a dearer friend to me, He'll lead me on till His Face, I see; Who cares when I'm weak and ailing? Who cares when my strength is failing? Jesus, my Lord and Savior cares! No, there’s no doubt at all, God Cares, and when we receive His care, we then become more and more like Him, and we also care. All that’s needed is for us to continually seek wisdom for focus and direction so that the care we offer will bear fruit which will last for eternity. Discussion Questions God Cares 1. Why can we confidently say that Christians naturally care? 2. For the Christian, what is the motive for caring for others? 3. According to Paul. who was the teacher who taught the Thessalonian Christians to care about the needs of others? 4. When Jesus was “moved with compassion,” what did he do? 5. What is meant by “mutual care,” and what Scriptures teach this? 6. Can you think of any examples of “Misplaced” care? 7. Is it possible for a person care too much? How? 8. How does care relate to each of the three circles of Concern, Influence, and Responsibility? 9. What is the appropriate response to the fear of being conned by someone seeking assistance? 10. Concerning God’s care, I Peter 5:7 would be an excellent memory verse. Can you recite it? 11. If “five sparrows sold for two pennies,” the assumption is that, sold separately, each sparrow would cost half a penny. What then is the monetary value of the fifth sparrow, and what does that teach about God’s care? 12. What Bible author first penned these words, “underneath are the everlasting arms”? 13. How does the care given by our Heavenly Father relate to the care we provide for each other? - - Return to Top of this Page - Email a Link to this Page - Go To Next Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick - Back To Sermons Page or to the Sermons Alphabetical List - - Download This Sermon This Page's Title Is: Your Name Is: Your Email Address Is: Your State and Country: Please identify your vocation: Senior Pastor. Associate Pastor. Youth Pastor. Lay Minister. Church Member. Which section of this site would you most likely return to? Sermons Articles Stories Poems Hymns Articles for Leaders Marriage Articles A Bit of Humor Would you like to receive the free weekly E-mail Circular? YES If you have a web page, would you like to establish a reciprocal link? YES Feel free to add a comment or prayer request: