The God Who Cares
Most people consider God as the creator and the Lord who is all powerful. They think of Him as the sovereign God who has the control and power over everything and everyone in the heaven and on earth. However, it is less often that people acknowledge His loving and caring nature and mistakenly assume they are left with little or no help from Him in their lives. Most people come to this conclusion when facing difficulties or ongoing challenges in life. In fact, it is quite common (and somewhat reasonable) to ask questions like: where is God? Why He does not help? Doesn’t He care? The answer to these questions is: God cares! He cares about people and the way they live, and this is evident in the unique way He has created them and is continuously supporting, sustaining and guiding them.
God cares about human being as He created them after His very own image, choosing to make them as His best creation, far above any other formations: “and He designed you, and designed you well, and to Him is the final return” (Qur’an 64:3). It is the human beings that are special in the eyes of God, so much so that He entrusts no one with His essence but the human being, designating them as His representative on earth: “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am placing a successor on earth … I know what you do not know’” (Qur’an 2:30). This is the extend to witch people are special in the view of the Divine, being chosen as His deputies on earth and having superiority over every other creature.
It was not only through creation that God portrayed His love and care for human beings, the way in which He prepared the world for them is another sign of His utmost care for them. He was fully aware of human beings and their needs before they were even formed, so to accommodate their needs, He first prepared the world by creating the day and the night, the sun and the moon, the plants and the animals, the water and the sea. It was not after this, that the human beings were created: “Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild(Genesis 1:26). So this world was well prepared and designed for human beings to come and dwell in, and not only that, everything people may ever need or want in this life, God has placed it on the earth: “Do you not see how God placed at your service everything in the heavens and the earth? How He showered you with His blessings, both outward and inward?” (Qur’an 31:20). These scriptures, both from the Qur’an and the Bible, illustrate how people are being cared for by their Creator, and their concerns are well known by the Divine even before they, themselves, became aware of their own needs.
In addition to putting everything (both animate and inanimate entities) at the service of human beings, the Divine completed and further perfected His love for them through making Himself known to them. Indeed, the act of revealing Himself to human beings is the greatest sign of God’s profound love and care for His favorite creation. According to a sacred Hadith, “I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known. So I created the Creation in order to be known." Without Him being revealed to the world, people had no way of finding the Truth and being guided to the straight path, a path that guides people toward the Divine light. He longs to rescue the human beings by guiding them from darkness into the light: “It is He [God] who reaches out to you, and His angels, to bring you out of darkness into the light” only because “He is Ever-Merciful towards the believers” (Qur’an 33:43). It is important to know that He is the One who initiate and “reaches out” to people and “guides [them] to the path” and not the other way around (Qur’an 33:4). This shows the great sense of love and care that God has for people, sincerely longing to rescue them, so much so that He does not simply wait for people to ask Him for help; He initiate the act of guidance by “reaching out” to them, as He is willing to constantly guide and care for His favorite creation.
Through different messengers and profits, furthermore, the Divine sends down the necessary guidance for people to live a fulfilling and successful life: “whenever guidance comes to you from Me, then whoever follows My guidance—they have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve” ( Qur’an 3:38). This guidance is more than some religious laws or principles; they are meant to bring clarity and healing for people: “God intends to make things clear to you, and to guide you in the ways of those before you, and to redeem you” (Qur’an 4:26). His intention is to help, guide and “redeem” people, purifying their hearts so that they could have a more fulfilling life.
Without a doubt, human beings are the chosen and most favorite of God’s creation. The way in which He created them and is continuously helping and guiding them in life are just some evidences of His love and care for them. Though some may question God’s love and sense of care at some points in their lives, (especially when facing ongoing difficult situations), it is evident from the scriptures that God is constantly supporting people by revealing His guidance to their hearts. He has created them out of His own image, designated them as His deputies on earth, and has given them superiority over everything on earth. Having possessed such a high standing with the Divine, it is not but authentic and reasonable to recognize that human beings are constantly being guided and cared for at all times by their Creator, and this is by the will and design of a loving God who cares about His creations.