“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8).
Our universe reflects God’s glory. It is big, beautiful and beyond our ability to grasp. Compared to the cosmos, humans are merely a speck of dust. Who are we that God would see value in us. Why would he care about and for us? We are fickle, unfaithful, and under-serving to receive the loving attention of God. In spite of us, he loves us because He made us in His image. We were created to not only have a personal relationship with Him but also to be His agents of care for all that He has created. We need to take care of all that he has given to us, including the land, sea, air and all who live on this earth. We are to love all those whom He has created by helping them in times of need. That is what brings God glory.
What about all the starving people? There is more than enough food in this world to feed the millions of people who are in dire need of food and water. The problem in communities with starving people is their inability to have access to the food provided for them. It is not God’s fault; He supplied it. It is the fault of the corrupt, greedy, and selfish nature of humanity. Instead of being God’s agents of helping others, food is often hoarded, mismanaged, and often squandered for money instead of seeing that people had enough food to eat.
God is not responsible for the selfishness and dishonesty of man. Neither is He accountable for greed, hatred, pride, laziness, hoarding, cruelty, spite, callousness, or any other sin that contributes to world hunger. God is a good and perfect God. All people are sinners (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The tragedies of the world—mainly preventable tragedies such as world hunger—are the result of sin.
God shows His care when He prompts the followers of Christ to feed and clothe those in need. Compassion International, World Vision, World Help, Feed the Hungry, Samaritan’s Purse—and other agencies are answering the call to help those in need. Christian missionaries are all over the world, helping people with their basic needs while teaching them God’s Word. They do this out of love for their Lord and love for people. They do this because they “are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10).
God is good all the time. But it is often discouraging to see such evil and suffering in the world. We know that evil exists not because of God but because of Satan, sin, and the fallen condition of humankind. We do not give up hope. We love our neighbors as ourselves, for the sake of Him who “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). One day, our Lord will make all things right, and there will no longer be suffering and pain.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me. Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:37-46).